I remember once, when playing a game of golf, standing on the tee read to tee-off when all of a sudden out of the bracken came twelve Muntjac deer. They made a helluva din and boy could they shift for their size.
I estimate that they were no bigger than my labrador dog but ran as fast as a greyhound; I was extremely pleased that they decided to scarper down the fairway and not towards those of us standing on the tee.
Despite many years living and working in the countryside, it was my first ever encounter with muntjac and the only time I've been that close in the wild.
I know now that the muntjac isn't a native of the British Isles, having been imported from South-Asia to Woburn Abbey and Whipsnade Zoo but, after poor or neglegent management, aduly muntjac were either released or escaped into the wild.
Although relatively secretive and lonesome by nature, the muntjac is a resilient animal and quickly adapted to life in wild and they subsequently bred profusely - the muntjac has no set rutting season and can give birth at any time of the year.
Recording Invasive Species Counts (RISC)
Now, DEFRA and the on-Native Species Secretariat, is to monitor six non-native species - Muntjac Deer, Chinese Mitten Crab, Zebra Mussel, Tree of Heaven, American Skunk Cabbage and Creeping Water Primrose - and assess their impact on wildlife in the United Kingdom.
Data collected by RISC will help scientists both understand the distribution and ecology of six non-native species - the information will then be added to a national database.
Peter Brown, Anglia Ruskin University and RISC Project Co-ordinator, said, "It is important that awareness of non-native species is raised and their effects better understood. By providing records, members of the public can play a vital role in helping scientists track non-native species and better understand their ecology."
The RISC project is funded by DEFRA and is a collaboration between:
The Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
The National Biodiversity Network
Anglia Ruskin University
Great Britain Non-Native Species Secretariat.
The project is part of the Great Britain Non-Native Species Information Portal which is gathering information on 3,800 non-native species.
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