Haven’t changed that opinion since 2009, either. Anyway, I came across a slightly despairing passage from 2011: in case you weren’t aware, golden bamboo is an invasive species in Maryland, because some idiots thought that it’d look awesome here right next to the native bamboo (which has the elementary politeness to regulate itself). The problem?
There are no known biological controls for bamboo, unless you count the Giant panda. Certain spider mites feed on bamboo leaves but they do not cause extensive damage. Pandas on the other hand, actively eat the leaves and tender shoots of bamboo, and in fact bamboo makes up 95% of their diet. Since adult pandas eat about 20-30 pounds of bamboo per day, a pair would make short work of an infested area. Pandas are however, notoriously scarce, with only about 1,000 found in the wilds of central China and another 200 or so in zoos throughout the world. So don’t look for anyone offering their services.
On the bright side, there may be a solution here: genetic engineering. If we could get our hands on enough panda DNA, we could bootleg the species and release it into the wild (after tweaking its collective suicide wish, slightly). Of course, once they eat all the bamboo they’re kind of stuck, but I figure that if we also make them tasty that would be a self-correcting problem. Certainly the coywolves wouldn’t object…
Wow. I have definite opinions about animals, huh?