And a Cow ain't no Lemur, mate.
Crayfish
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And a Cow ain't no Lemur, mate.
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[h=1]Crayfish invade Hampstead Heath[/h][h=2]The greatest dangers for bathers using Hampstead Heath’s ponds used to be hypothermia or an encounter with a disgruntled duck.[/h]
But authorities have been forced to issue a new warning following reports that an invasive breed of crayfish has swamped the open-air pools and begun nipping swimmers in intimate places.
It is a particularly sensitive problem in the Men’s Pond, where many bathers prefer to swim in the nude.
The culprits are Red Swamp Crayfish, a non-native species known for their aggressive behaviour and long claws. First spotted in the north London park around 20 years ago, they are now multiplying at such a rate that around 5,000 of them are said to be colonising the ponds.
Doug Slade, chairman of the Hampstead Heath Anglers Association, said one of his members reported catching 180 of the crayfish in one hour.
“They just breed and breed and breed - they eat all the fish in the ponds and there is nothing we can do to stop them.
“We don’t want them here as they are destroying the wildlife,†Mr Slade said.
For the bathers, the problem is more painful. Peter McCafferty, 43, a regular visitor to the ponds, said: “I have been seeing more and more crayfish being pulled out of the ponds and I am very wary of them.
“I’ve had a couple of nips on my toes in the past few months, usually when I stop for a rest and tread water. But some people have been nipped in altogether more sensitive places, which doesn’t bear thinking about.â€
A fellow swimmer said he had been nipped on the bottom. “I suppose I was lucky really - if the crayfish had decided to attack from the other side I would have been in a lot more pain,†he said.
“From now on I’m wearing my trunks.â€
A spokesman for the City of London Corporation, which runs the Heath, said: “We would prefer it if the crayfish had not been released in the first place, given that they are a non-native species. We don’t know how they got there, but a likely explanation is that they were dumped in the ponds.
“Now that they are here, we would recommend that swimmers keep their distance to avoid getting a pinch.
“We would also advise people to wear clothes.â€
Hampstead Heath has three bathing areas - the Men’s Pond, Ladies’ Pond and Mixed Pond - and has welcomed bathers in all seasons since the 19th century.
Crayfish are not the only non-native species to invade the Heath, one of the capital’s loveliest open spaces.
It is also home to a colony of parakeets, more commonly found in Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Nobody is quite sure how they arrived there but the most colourful theory had them escaping from the set of John Huston’s 1951 film The African Queen, which was filmed at Shepperton studios in Surrey.
It used to be crabs that were caught down there.
But authorities have been forced to issue a new warning following reports that an invasive breed of crayfish has swamped the open-air pools and begun nipping swimmers in intimate places.
It is a particularly sensitive problem in the Men’s Pond, where many bathers prefer to swim in the nude.
The culprits are Red Swamp Crayfish, a non-native species known for their aggressive behaviour and long claws. First spotted in the north London park around 20 years ago, they are now multiplying at such a rate that around 5,000 of them are said to be colonising the ponds.
Doug Slade, chairman of the Hampstead Heath Anglers Association, said one of his members reported catching 180 of the crayfish in one hour.
“They just breed and breed and breed - they eat all the fish in the ponds and there is nothing we can do to stop them.
“We don’t want them here as they are destroying the wildlife,†Mr Slade said.
For the bathers, the problem is more painful. Peter McCafferty, 43, a regular visitor to the ponds, said: “I have been seeing more and more crayfish being pulled out of the ponds and I am very wary of them.
“I’ve had a couple of nips on my toes in the past few months, usually when I stop for a rest and tread water. But some people have been nipped in altogether more sensitive places, which doesn’t bear thinking about.â€
A fellow swimmer said he had been nipped on the bottom. “I suppose I was lucky really - if the crayfish had decided to attack from the other side I would have been in a lot more pain,†he said.
“From now on I’m wearing my trunks.â€
A spokesman for the City of London Corporation, which runs the Heath, said: “We would prefer it if the crayfish had not been released in the first place, given that they are a non-native species. We don’t know how they got there, but a likely explanation is that they were dumped in the ponds.
“Now that they are here, we would recommend that swimmers keep their distance to avoid getting a pinch.
“We would also advise people to wear clothes.â€
Hampstead Heath has three bathing areas - the Men’s Pond, Ladies’ Pond and Mixed Pond - and has welcomed bathers in all seasons since the 19th century.
Crayfish are not the only non-native species to invade the Heath, one of the capital’s loveliest open spaces.
It is also home to a colony of parakeets, more commonly found in Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Nobody is quite sure how they arrived there but the most colourful theory had them escaping from the set of John Huston’s 1951 film The African Queen, which was filmed at Shepperton studios in Surrey.
It used to be crabs that were caught down there.
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