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LinkedInPosts Tagged: cats
Do You Have 'Cats?
If you have a passionflower vine (Passiflora), you probably have cats. No, not the four-legged...
A Gulf Fritillary caterpillar on a passionflower (Passiflora) leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Munch, munch, munch! A Gulf Fritillary caterpillar is chomping away. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This image shows a Gulf Fritillary caterpillar, a chrysalis and an adult. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Dorsal view of a newly eclosed Gulf Fritillary nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Feral cats are a threat to wildlife
Feral cats are thought to be responsible for the extinction of no less than 20 native Australian mammal species, reported Weston Williams in the Australia edition of the Christian Science Monitor. The population density is smaller than the density in North America and Europe, but their impact on the wildlife Down Under is of grave concern.
Australia is not alone. A 2013 study found that cats kill as many as 3.7 billion birds and 20.7 billion small mammals in the U.S. every year.
"All outdoor cats can pose risks to wildlife," said Niamh Quinn, UC Cooperative Extension human-wildlife interactions advisor based at the UC South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine. "Keeping cats indoors limits their risk to native species."
According to the story, many conservationists consider cats to be an invasive species and "tough measures" are required protect native animals from their carnivorous habits.
"Currently, trap-neuter-return (TNR) programs are not effective at curbing the population," Quinn said. "Mathematical models of feral cat populations indicate that 71 to 94 percent of a population must be neutered for the populations to decline, assuming there is no immigration . . . Current TNR programs are not operating at this rate."
In Australia, the federal government plans to cull 2 million cats over five years.
In Mint Condition
Our catmint is in mint condition.So is the cat.The catmint (Nepeta mussinii) is a member of the...
Bee on Catmint
Tongue
Like an Acrobat
Cat Sniffing Catmint
