Wild pigs menace suburban Atlanta

By David Beasley

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Wild pigs have descended on a suburban Atlanta neighborhood where they are scaring children, making a general nuisance of themselves, and acting as they if they own the place.

One large specimen was sighted on Monday morning rummaging through garbage it had strewn across Taneisha Danner's front yard in Lithonia, an area about 19 miles east of downtown Atlanta.

It then trotted into the backyard, taking a nap before returning with three other pigs from a patch of nearby woods, Danner told Reuters on Tuesday.

"This is their home," Danner joked. "We're just visiting."

She said the animals were no laughing matter for neighborhood children, however, noting that some were now afraid to leave the safety of their homes.

"My children are even afraid to be downstairs, worried that he (the pig) could come through the door," Danner said.

Descendents of wild boar, the feral pigs are a particular pest in rural Georgia and notorious for damaging farmer's crops, said Charlie Killmaster, a deer and feral hog biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

There are so many hogs that hunting season has been flung wide open for wild pigs on private land, he said, adding that it was still fairly rare for them to show up in suburban neighborhoods.

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Snakes alive: deadly tenants nest in Australia's suburbs

They are the nightmare tenants who can live undetected alongside Australian families for years: the world's deadliest snakes.

Australia is home to some of the most venomous species including the lethal eastern brown, which thrive in urban areas where rubbish bins attract prey such as rats and mice.

Sydney snake handler Andrew Melrose says some species even spend winter months comfortably curled up inside warm roofs, until they are disturbed, often by accident.

"Some people really panic, and they are screaming," says Melrose of the residents who call him for help.

"They reckon they are going to sell up and move to a place like New Zealand where there are no snakes."

The irony is that the reptiles have often been living in the house or garden for years, and it is only something out of the ordinary -- such as a rare day off for the homeowner or a building renovation -- that brings them to light, Melrose says.

Continued

Nature reclaiming suburbs

Possums are moving into abandoned Christchurch suburbs and a very rare bird has returned to the city as wildlife reacts to the earthquakes.

The growing number of possums is just one of many changes in local wildlife in response to population and landscape changes in eastern Christchurch, including tree saplings already sprouting on empty sites and a potential fall in birds such as pukekos.

Landcare Research pest control scientist Janine Duckworth said possums would prosper in the red zone as humans leave.

"It doesn't surprise me that we are seeing more of them as they do try to avoid people. With fewer dogs in the areas that will allow them to move into places they may not have been able to take advantage of in the past. If they are less disturbed, then more young possums will grow into adults," she said.

Richmond resident Rex Collins found a possum the size of a "fox terrier" on the roof of his home. It is the first he has encountered in 16 years of living in the suburb.

"We woke up in the middle of the night to this loud crashing sound on the roof. We have this problem with squatters next door, so we thought it was someone jumping on our roof. We rang the police and they came pretty quickly. They had a good look around and then they found this huge possum," he said.

"He was about the size of a fox terrier in body size. He had these huge big round eyes about the size of $2 coins."

"A lot of wildlife is coming back into the area. The wildlife is taking over again."

Sub5 security officer Rory Garland, who patrols the red zone for Cera, has also seen many possums on his night patrols.

"I have seen about three or four possums. I saw one just sitting in the middle of the road. In the end it went up a power pole."

Read on:  http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/7464947/Nature-reclaiming-suburbs