As spring is transitioning into summer and school semesters are finishing, the thoughts of many are turning to vacation, particularly towards the south. Florida is certainly a very possible vacationing spot during the summer. In fact, there were Animalians heading there as well, though vacation wasn't on their minds.
Due to the carelessness of humans over the years, several nonnative species have gotten loose in the Floridian wilds and have propagated greatly, mostly to the declination of local species. Some invasive species have settled in so well, it would take years to remove them without resorting to drastic measures. Even Animalians wouldn't have much better luck. While normal animals are a bit more relaxed around Animalian versions of their species, that didn't give Animalians control over them as some people suspect.
"I'm not sure where people are getting ideas like that," said Anton to a reporter, "Too many comic books, I guess."
"Then you can't really talk to them either," said the reporter.
"Animals don't really have a complex language," said Marlysa, "Most sounds animals make can boil down to 'danger, predator', 'this is my territory', and 'wanna be my mate'. Besides, these are iguanas." She held up the handful of green lizards she had gathered. With most people, they'd be squirming to escape. But seeing that Marylsa is also an iguana, they were more at ease. "Vocalization's not a big thing with reptiles," said Marlysa as she put them into a glass box.
"And what are your plans for these iguanas?" asked the reporter, "Are you going to uplift them all?"
"Not necessarily," said Anton, "The people in Florida have enough of a housing shortage as it is. Most of these will go to pet stores and some will be sent down to their native habitats in Brazil."
"I'm Brazilian?" asked Marlysa, "I never felt like it before."
"Well, you were raised in America," said Anton.
"And what about more disruptive invasive species, like Rhesus macaques and Burmese pythons?" asked the reporter.
"I'm not sure we have enough information on the macaques," said Anton, "Anyways, we'd have no better luck with catching them than humans."
"And the pythons would be even harder for us to catch," said Marlysa, "But fortunately, there's a Burmese python Animalian, Angie, who can help with corralling some of them."
"And where is she?" asked the reporter.
"Finishing up a few things in Lyre," said Anton, "She'll down here before too long."
==========
It wasn't just in California that peacocks were making nuisances of themselves. Stable breeding populations of peafowl have become a problem in several Floridian towns. They stomp on roofs, they peck at cars, they cause property damage and stop traffic. But most of all, the noise they make have worn the resident's nerves thin. While they don't want the beautiful birds hurt, they needed a better solution for them. One village has started giving peacocks vasectomies to stem the population explosion.
This unique approach soon made the news and spread all the way down to Brazil where it caught the attention of Paula. While shi thought it was a humane approach, it disturbed hir how many peacocks would be losing a small but vital part of their masculinity. As such, shi and a few of hir fellow herm peafowls were flying up north to help remove some of the peafowl population by uplifting them into fellow herms.
This drew attention for two reasons. First, some people were curious about what happens when female birds of a species that shows notable sexual dimorphism (peafowl being a prime example) are uplifted as herm Animalians. Also, people were wondering where the other herm peafowl that formed Paula's flock came from. To this, Paula had three things to say.
"First of all, we aren't a flock, we're a pride," said Paula, "I suppose we could call ourselves an ostentation, but pride sounds better. And secondly, I already knew these people before I converted. There is quite a few of us who delight in the fabulous things in life that straddle both sides of gender. And third, I did convert them legally. I don't wave the paperwork around for everyone to see. You can check at Horizon Lab's office if you don't believe me."
==========
Of course, not all invasive species were up on dry land. For instance, the lionfish has become a very big problem along the East Coast and in the Caribbean. Due to a lack of natural predators, their population has swelled enough to seriously impact reef diversity. Uplifting them simply wasn't an option. This is one of the few overpopulation problems where culling really is the best answer. Fisherman have been catching lionfish as well as coming up with new recipes for serving their meat. Some people were trying to teach native predators, like the barracuda, that lionfish are edible and the meat is worth it. Animalia was taking a similar though more proactive approach.
Lemon sharks are not as big and fearsome as bull sharks and great whites. However, they are considerably more social than many species of sharks. Scientists have noticed that a lemon shark's brain in comparison to its body is similar in scale to primates and birds, which means it has the intelligence to form more complex social interactions.
As such, a school of lemon sharks were uplifted. They adapted rather well to their new selves and now they could hunt lionfish more effectively. Though plenty of them were interested in the world above. One particular female wanted to go on dry land to meet the diver that she's known for many years. Which she didn't know his address, she could remember his name clearly enough.