More on the Australian Cactus Situation
The Opuntia that has esacped in Australia is a nasty one. From the Courier Mail:
Once spines of the hudson pear cactus penetrate the skin, they often require pliers to pull them out. It is potentially the worst cactus species to spread in Australia…
Ms Sippel said koala deaths also had been recorded.
Koalas are cuddly. I thought they spent all there time hanging out in eucalyptus trees in Australia, which by the way escaped here in Northern California and are a real nuisance weed here.
ABC New South Wales adds this quote from the same Ms. Sippel:
“It is covered in all these long spines, so it is really dangerous to livestock and native animals,” Ms Sipple said.
“Something that we would really want to get on top of and get rid of as quickly as we possibly can.”
Good luck with that.
