麻豆约拍

Rabbits were brought from England and introduced to Australia in 1858 to give the colonists something to shoot at. They have since multiplied alarmingly fast to become a major pest species. One farmer has 36 million on his property alone. They eat all the grass, push small native animals out of their homes and they're still not under control now. In 1840, camels were brought from Asia to Australia as beasts of burden, but later abandoned in favour of lorries. Half a million descendants now raom the outback - too many for a drought prone land to support. In 1935, the South American cane toad was released, a poisonous species was brought into control pest beetles. The plan fails, but the toads themselves thrive and poison native animals that try to eat them. Even the most innocent seeming foreigners can be trouble. In 1822 settlers brought European honey bees to Australia to produced honey. But it was bad news for the species already here. In the northern tropical forests, native bees feed on pollen and nectar and certain flowers need to be vibrated to release their pollen reward. It's a relationship that has grown up over millions of years. But the European honey bees can'd do this buzz pollination, they just can't shake their bodies in the right way. Their method is to steal the pollen the native bees have just set on the flowers. And they have even more agressive tactics - they beat up the native bees, stealing the pollen from their backs and driving them away from the flowers. Without proper pollination, the flowers - and the native animals that rely on them - are at risk.