The moose in Colorado are what I consider semi-native as they were documented occasionally in the state prior to (re)introduction. The wanderers from now-established populations in Colorado into New Mexico since the 1990s are non-native as we have no historical records of moose in NM. Pretty cool to have them in NM but I’d prefer they not establish here.
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I’ve got distant kin up by Mora on my mom’s side and apparently they swear they’ve seen a moose in the last few weeks. Blows my mind they’ve gotten that far south
There was a recent moose in Taos County. In last several years we seem to get a few reports each fall.
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I grew up in Hawaii, and when I was around 15 or 16 my dad started noticing that a male white-rumped shama would come by when we did yard work. When we left, he’d scarf down the bugs we turned up in the soil. This led me to start opening our compost bin lid for him, and he totally went to town on all the inverts living in it. Eventually he’d sit on the lid in the morning and chirp at us until we opened it. Not something I’d do now that I know better, but I have a soft spot for those introduced birds in Hawaii. As a bonus, they have crazy cool songs.
Green anoles were part of what got me into nature in the first place, so I love those as well.
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Cats inside. no problem.
Scaly-Breasted Munias for me. Didn’t realise they were introduced until fairly recently, I assumed they were native like the other Estrildidae in Australia. I don’t know what their impact on native species though.
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There are several introduced species that are not destructive to the ecosystem and it is nice to see them from time to time like the octopus stinkhorn, Clathrus archeri.
There are also very few invasive species that inhabit niches where no native species were able to survive before, Impatiens parviflora for example can grow in shady beech forests which originally had no herb layer. Unfortunately, in some areas they nevertheless outcompete some native species, although these are usually not rare species, at least in Europe.
The aphid Impatientinum asiaticum that reproduces on several Impatiens species from Asia including I. parviflorum has been accidentally brought in aswell and now it acts a bit like a biocontrol agent and is at the same time food for several native species.
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Some native-habitat purist no doubt considers that to be a problem – and could tell you in great detail why having an herb layer is bad for those beech forests.
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Central European wide-leaved forest are actually very bare under trees, how normal it is is actually a good question, extinct bovines were eating young trees, I remember reading that this lost affected forests a lot, but have no idea about those southern forests, they look empty without invasive Impatiens, but hardly better with it (this species is a serious plague).
Convolvulus arvensis because it’s a pretty little flower that makes a bland landscape pop.
Solanum nigrum too, because the flower just looks a bit derpy with the way the white petals grow backwards.
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I’d have to go with homo sapiens, despite their devastating and global environmental impact.
There may be some tribal bias here, but I just wanted to make a counterpoint here to all those who say they hate and despise every invasive.
Technically though, is there any universally agreed on area out there where “native to” fits our species?
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I’d say humans are native everywhere, since we got there under our own power.
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I have a soft place in my heart for House Sparrows (Passer domestica) ever since as a very young child I had a long conversation with one, the two of us alternating chirping.
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