BBC Wildlife - UK (2019-12)

December 2019 BBC Wildlife 29

WILD NEWS

WELL, RACCOONS ARE ALREADY HERE.

The Global Biodiversity Information Facility

(GBIF) has records of 10 sightings in the wild

since 2005, ranging from the south coast of

England to the north of mainland Scotland.

Clever, adaptable animals, raccoons were

taken to the Caribbean as early as the 17th

century, and have been steadilymaking

inroads into mainland Europe since at least

the 1930s. And a study published earlier

this year by Dr Vivien Louppe, from the

French National Museum of Natural History,

concluded that southern England – and, in

time, Scotland – would provide ideal climate

and habitat for the species.

Raccoons have long been transported

around the world, ostensibly for the fur

trade or as pets. But the opportunities for

them to become invasive in Britain come

from another source, Louppe believes.

“Viable populations may most probably

arise in the UK from repeated accidental

releases from zoos,” he says.

That said, Louppe was quick to dismiss the

fears of one tabloid newspaper that flesh-

eating raccoons could invade Britain.

“Raccoons are omnivorous and

opportunistic,” he says. “They can prey on a

wide variety of animals, but plant materials

and human [rubbish] also represent a

significant part of their diet.” James Fair

Clamstrapplastic

ENVIRONMENT

T

herearefew,if any,placesonEarth

thatarefreeofmicroplasticpollution.

ButwhenscientistsfromKingAbdullah

UniversityofScienceandTechnologyin

SaudiArabialookedat themicroplastic

contentoftheRedSea,theyfoundmuch

lessthantheyexpected.Andnowthey’ve

foundwheresomeofthemissingplastic

endsup– intheshellsofgiantclams.

Thesemolluscsarespecialistfilter-

feeders,suckinginvastquantitiesof

seawaterandsievingoutthesolidmatter.

Laboratoryexperimentsperformedby

SilviaArossaandcolleagueshaveshown

thatclamsremove 66 percentofplastic

particlesaddedtothewater.

It turnsoutthattheclamsare

notsimplyeatingtheparticles:“At

thebeginning,wewerefocusedon

ingestion,butthenwerealisedthat

mostoftheplasticwasattachedto

thesurfaceoftheshells,”Arossasays.

Arossaalsopointsoutthatclamsare

probablynotaloneinprovidingthis

service.Indeed,otherscientistsare

investigatingtheroleofcoralsinthe

removalofplasticfromthewater.SB

Flesh-eating

raccoons could

invade Britain

TRUTH OR FICTION

?

Maxima clams are

removing plastic

from the Red Sea

via two processes.

WANT TO

COMMENT? Email

wildlifeletters@

immediate.co.uk

Are these medium-

sized rodents really

going to enter the

UK with intrusive

eect, as reported

in the press?

Raccoons are

native to

North America.

Raccoon: Bill Coster/FLPA; clam: Tunatura/Getty

FIND OUT MORE

Environmental Pollution: bit.ly/32XEj96