Can SOMEONE here please tell me, what Cats are good for?

I think the cane toad is a native of either Central or South America, not Hawaii. The first batch you guys got came from Hawaii though, but they were transplanted to Hawaii from Central America to control a beetle which they couldn’t jump high enough to catch on the Australian cane, at least that is what I understand.

Hawaii did take your macadamia nut and make it a "money maker" to start with, I never did figure out why the "jack rabbit" was introduced down under, but then again how in the HELL did the western Yellowjacket wasp get into Hawaii?

Anytime humans think they can "use" nature to control nature, they generally screw the pooch. Look at the melaleuca "tree", which was an Australian native plant imported into the Everglades since the 1800s to "dry up" and "reclaim" some wet land area. With no natural (in Florida) constraints, and it now runs over about a half million acres of Florida.

So in response to that import, there are continuing efforts to bring in more "natural enemies" starting with the melaleuca snout beetle. Then since that move didn’t appear to be working too well, back in 2001 the "powers that be" also started importing another enemy, a psyllid, which is an aphid-like insect with toxic saliva whose larvae cover the melaleuca tree with tufts of cottony wax.

While today global transit of both people and goods makes the containment of ‘odd" species almost impossible, some things just happen because people don’t think about the results, or the threat to the future ecology.

 

And the hydrilla plant in south Louisiana, it's sort of like an aquatic version of the kudzu blight. The hydrilla covers lakes and bayous, and it makes it hard to find the crawfish traps and trot lines too....And it AIN'T good in gumbo, cause if it was, then there'd be none left!

 

Clint,

Australia has some of the most stringent quarantine regulations on the planet, but that does not stop stupidity, especially from 'experts'.

We have had ONE success though. We had a terrible problem with 'Prickly Pear' in Queensland back in the 1930s, and it was so bad that it looked like Queensland agriculture was nearly non-viable.

They bought in a beetle called the 'Cactoblastis' and it gobbled up the Prickly pear like there was no tomorrow.

Problem solved.

I have seen the areas of Florida infested with Melaleuca trees and their efforts to physically root out the trees by the square mile. It will be a long job.

We banned hunting of Crocodiles a few years back, because the 'experts' said they were endangered, they are now crawling all over the 'Top End'.


John.

 

A-58,

Please excuse my ignorance, but what is 'gumbo'?


John.

 

Gumbo is classified as a soup by chefs, and is listed in the soup section on menus at the finer eateries. Whatever it really is, when prepared right is is very good. Had some for supper tonight I might add. It's base is a roux (roo) which is made of oil and flour cooked down until brown. Then you add your fixin's (ingredients) such as tomatoes, onions, peppers, okra, garlic, sausage, etc. Add some stock according to whatever meats used (chicken stock for fowl, seafood stock for seafood of course). Red meat is not used in gumbo. Cook all ingredients for about an hour and season to taste. Serve over rice in a bowl, like you would soup. Traditional side dishes are french bread and potato salad. Beer goes good with gumbo too, not in gumbo, with gumbo. Ready to start cooking now?

 

Sorry, Ozjohn,

I can't get worked up over species going extinct like all those morons who call themselves environmental "scientists". Anytime man inhabits new territory he starts bringing in alien species both deliberately and inadvertently. That means Darwin's dynamics are going to start operating and some native species won't be able to cope.

But, hey, that's not bad. The whole biological history of the world is one of species extinction and evolution of better adapted species. That's the way it's supposed to work. Only idiots think man can do a better job than natural selection.

Possibly the dumbest thing Congress ever did here, was pass the Environmental Protection Act. It just set the Federal government up as God, trying to keep every species alive, deserving of extinction or not. In the Northwest a few years ago, the Feds were killing seals (on whose behalf they had just put a lot of fishermen out of business), to save wild salmon, which were in competition with hatchery-raised salmon (which were funded by guess who?) What we neeed to do is get rid of the Feds, get rid of the tree huggers, get rid of the environmental "scietists, and let nature do what it's been doing for millions of years.

A for Australia, look at the bright side, at least cats kill rodents and flying pests like pigeons, and they're likely to survive just about any critter that manages to get there.

 

That would sum up the US immigration and welfare progam. If we could somehow incorporate Urqh's "American Rules Cricket" into the mix we might have a solution to the defeciet.

 

Yes, cats are survivors. Cats have taken up residence in ANTARTICA of all places. I saw a show on TLC years ago where cats that survived shipwrecks or got loose from camps are surviving in the wild. Over the years, they are now born without tails (they freeze too easily). They live off rodents that got there like they did, and at times they take on penguins and the occasional little seals. It's a crazy world....

 

"American Rules Cricket"



Excuse me I just threw up!


John.

 

PS,

Actually, don't they call that BASEBALL?


John.

 

John, go to the thread titled "The 1940s weekend-coming soon!" to see what formerjughead is talking about. You will have to read it all to understand what he is talking about. And be sure to look at some of the links that urqh has provided about the rules of cricket....

 

Sorry about that, this is what I was referring to:

 

Dogs are mans' best friend.

 

I like dogs....

YouTube - Hale and Pace 'Microwave Cat' sketch

But cats are usefull too....

 

more affectionate than dogs, not to mention smarter.

 

I think Dogs are more affectionate then Cats.

 

Speaking of Doga and not to stray too far off the topic of Cats ;-)) Yesterday when I went for my daily walk early afternoon-I passed a hose about two blocks out-dog was loose and ran up to me wagging his tail and licking my pants legs. I wanted to pet him but knowing if I did, my Cats would make my life a living hell.

Well, after arriving back home-the Cats smelled the Dogs odor on my leg and one Cat-sniffed and sniffed for about a minute-got up with tail jerking in air-and copped an attitude. The younger male sniffed and seemed to not care at all-laid down gainst my right leg and went to sleep.

My Female Cat-Shasta-sniffed the pants leg-actually scowled and ears went back-eyes narrowed, and growled-as she hates all Dogs as much as a Cat can hate dogs. Shasta refused to allow me to pet her much or brush her hair-that is-untill I finally setteled down for the evening and jumped onto my lap when I was watching news.

I fell asleep during the 10 o'clock news-and woke up a 3:30 Am-with her still sleeping on my lap. I hated waking her up so that I could go to bed but--after about a 10 minute waking the Cat ritual-had passed-she finally jumped off my lap.

 

I still like dogs.

 

Maybe that's why he is in love with her. He's finally able to think, "Free for all!"