Top 5 Most Destructive Invasive Species Today

Invasive animals have a long tradition of negative effects. When an animal, fish, insect, or plant is accidentally or purposefully removed from its natural habitat and placed in a new one, it is less likely to have natural predators.

Some invasive species, especially prolific breeders, thrive when they have little to hold their population in check. They have the ability to kill native plants, consume native animal species, and transmit disease, disrupting the fragile equilibrium of organisms that provide food, shelter, and a check on each other's growth. Extinctions have become common.

Invasive species affect biodiversity in a variety of ways. There may be no natural predators or controls when a new and destructive animal is introduced into an ecosystem.

Preying on native species, outcompeting native species for food or other resources, causing or carrying disease, and stopping native species from reproducing or destroying native species' young are all immediate threats posed by invasive species.

Here are 5 of the world's most destructive invasive species:

Cane Toad

Feral swine are the same breed as field pigs, and they are descended from farm escapees and/or Eurasian or Russian wild boars introduced to the United States for sport hunting in the early 1900s. According to the US Department of Agriculture, there are at least 6 million wild swine distributed across 35 states.

They've been a nasty problem in the south, particularly in Texas, where their relentless rooting and voracious feeding damage crops, erode soil, and uproot tree seedlings, resulting in deforestation. Pseudorabies and swine brucellosis are two diseases they harbor. The US Department of Agriculture reports that invasive swine cause $1.5 billion in annual damage to all types of agriculture, including cotton, maize, and grains.

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