Louisiana Crawfish Have Invaded Detroit And Residents Are Worried
Michigan's Department of Natural Resources is actually worried - almost scared, even - of 'red swamp crayfish' that have 'invaded' their ecoystem.
Reporter Paula Tutman of WDIV dramatically covered the presence of what Michigan's DNR is actually calling an 'invasive species:' red Louisiana crawfish. One person's pest is another person's dinner, but try telling that to Michiganians. Based on Tutman's report and the comments on it on WDIV's Facebook page, these crawfish might as well be alien invaders to some Michigan residents.
The video above shows Tutman accompanying members of the Michigan DNR as they remove the 'illegal invasive species.' The anchor introducing Tutman's story says that 'Louisiana swamp crayfish' might make 'your stomach turn a little,' and Tutman and the DNR agents react to the 'crayfish' with shock and outright disgust.
To be fair, we can't expect everyone to see crawfish the way we do, especially people in Michigan. One of the reasons they see our crawfish as so 'destructive' is because they apparently kill the species of crawfish that is already present in Michigan waters. Those little buggers are nothing compared to ours, so the reds are doing them a favor. The Michigan DNR doesn't see it that way and are determined to remove as many as possible.
Meanwhile, some Louisiana residents have latched on to the story and invaded the comments section of the story, which now has over 13, 000 comments. Most of the Louisianians commenting who aren't trolls are telling Michiganians not to worry and even offering to pay shipping and handling to get the 'invaders' sent to them. Those Michigan residents who aren't engaged in arguing with the trolls from Louisiana seem genuinely worried about the 'crayfish' because they're not only wiping out the native species but also burrowing, which some fear could cause increased soil erosion and 'understable waterbanks.'
Some of the Cajuns replying are asking why our crawfish are so harmful in Michigan when they're not harmful here. No matter our perspective on crawfish, it is illegal to own, import, or sell Louisiana 'crayfish' in Michigan. No offense to the fine people of Michigan, but that's just one more reason we're glad we live in Louisiana.