Invasive Species: Famine Weed

Invasive Species: Famine Weed — page 1

Invasive Species: Famine Weed — page 2 — CHAPTER 1 THE GREAT MIGRATION Hooves pounded against the ground at Maasai Mara National Reserve Wildebeests and zebras roamed across the savanna Two million animals were taking part in an annual migration They were traveling from Tanzania to Kenya But in 2011 the grassland looked different There was less grass In its The yearly migration of animals at Maasai Mara National Reserve is one of Earth’s largest migrations on land 5

Invasive Species: Famine Weed — page 3 — place was a tall weed The plant species is often known as famine weed The animals did not eat the weed And it crowded out other plants As a result the animals had less food Famine weed had spread to the grassland from vacation areas Property owners used famine weed for decoration Then the weed’s seeds blew away They landed in nearby soil Over time the weed spread It easily took over large areas of land Then it kept native grasses from growing People tried to remove famine weed from Maasai Mara Many pulled the weed out by hand in 2011 They burned 6

Invasive Species: Famine Weed — page 4 — In Maasai Mara famine weed often spreads to areas of cleared land including termite mounds stretches of land too These efforts helped for a period of time But the weed was able to grow back By 2016 it had also spread to new areas The weed’s spread showed why it was one of the worst invasive species on Earth 7

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