11 species that are destroying the planet (2024)

");}

Worried about animals going extinct? Here's another, less talked about problem: too many animals.

In the animal kingdom, predators typically keepoverpopulationin check. If those predators no longer exist, however, the populations of other animals can soar. And that can cause all manner of other problems.

Here are some of the animals in desperate need of a good predator.

1. Australia: Kangaroos

Our friends from down under are taking over the streets of Canberra. It's so bad thatgovernment officialsare now advocating killing much of the population to protect the endangered plants and reptiles kangaroos like to eat. Kangaroos have also broken intohomesand become traffic hazards in recent years.

2. China: Dogs

China’s growing middle class has a love affair with dogs. But as the dog population grows, so does an outbreak of rabies. China'shistory with rabieshas led Shanghai, and some other other cities, to instutue aone dog policyfor dog owners in 2011.

3. United States: White tailed deer

Deer do more harm than global warming? According to a study byThe Nature Conservancy,the overpopulation of deer is creating massive environmental problems in the eastern United States. Eating much of the plants, white tailed deer are drasticallychanging the make up of forests.

4. Worldwide: Jellyfish

The jellyfish population is growing so fast, they might just destroy the world. For one, they have a knack of disruptingpower plants. Jellyfish have almost no predators, eat everything, and are really hard to kill. Basically, jellyfish could one dayrule the seas.

5. England: Badgers

The explosion of the badger population in England is causing the rapidspreadof bovine tuberculosis. Frustrated farmers and the government are now encouraging the wholesale murder of badgers everywhere. Animal activists disapprove, of course, and are instead fighting toprotectthem.

6. Canada: Cats

Canadians love cats so much they left more than 600,000 of them homeless in 2011. The problem? According to the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, cats are less likely to be adopted or returned to their homes once they go missing. Efforts to increase cat adoptions are ongoing as shelters in Canada struggle to find room.

7. South Africa: Elephants

While elephant poaching isrisingin many parts of Africa, South Africa is facing the opposite problem: there's too many. They were reintroduced to nature reserves like theMakalali Game Reserve, with fresh vegetation and an open range to do their thing. But the population is getting out of control, forcing the rangers to institute birth control to curb growth.

8. Argentina: Beavers

To grow its fur trade, Argentina imported a mere 50 beavers from Canada in1946. Bad idea. Since then, they’ve swelled to a colony of more than 200,000 and have spread to Chile,felling endless treesin their wake. Officials have tried trapping them with little success. Their other solution? Encouraging restaurants to add beaver to their menus.

9. India: Monkeys

In India, monkeys represent theHindu god Hanumanand their growing ranks enjoy a life of excess on the streets of New Delhi. Residents feed them for religious reasons and, as a result, the monkeys are starting to behave like meth addicts. They'll do anything for their next fix, including breaking into homes andattacking people. Unless people stop feeding them, officials say there's little to be done.

10. Bahamas: Lionfish

Scientists believe lionfish found their way into the Caribbean afterHurricane Andrewhit an aquarium in 1992. Some of the fish got loose and have been terrorizing the seas ever since. To stop the spread of lionfish, scientists are working to re-introduce their natural enemy:the grouper.

11. Us

With a population of over 7.2 billion, people are the definition of overpopulation. According to the United Nations, the population could swell to more than8 billionby 2025. Deforestation, increased pollution, stretched natural resources, an ecosystem out of whack, the problems of a growing population are endless and could very well end us. Some argue thatoverpopulation is a myth. Time will tell.