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https://theconversation.com/feral-cats-likely-kill-far-more-australian-native-animals-than-we-thought-first-dna-analysis-287871>
"Australia’s unique animal species are in sharp decline, with more than 40
mammal extinctions over the past 238 years. This atrocious mammal conservation
record is the worst in the world.
Unfortunately, this is not simply a historic problem – almost 700 animals are
currently at risk of future extinction. At least 200 of these are directly
threatened by feral cats, as well as other pressures such as land-clearing,
disease and invasive species.
Feral, domestic and stray cats now occupy almost the entire continent and are
estimated to kill more than 1.5 billion native animals each year. These
estimates are based on more than 100 cat diet studies, which identified prey
animals using the traditional scientific methods of examining stomach contents
and scats (droppings).
However, our new research – the first in Australia to use DNA for cat stomach
analysis – shows traditional methods may greatly underestimate the true number
of native animals killed by feral cats."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
