Cats have always been at the top of the animal chain in the human world, and they make bipedals unable to stop. The soft and cute appearance often makes people ignore the nature of this animal, which is actually mature and efficient predators.
Is there a day when you associate them with invasive species? In Australia, wild cats have become rampant, seriously threatening the local ecological security. Where should people go?
Wild cats have eliminated some animal species on this red continent and threatened more than 100 other animals. In a new report, the government committee pointed out that the problem of stray cats in Australia has been avoided and practical solutions must be found to be effectively resolved.
Koalas, koalas, platypus - Australia is known for its unique native wildlife. In contrast, cats are invasive species on this continent, and they did not come to this land with the first European colonists until the 18th century.
Since then, cats have been an extremely popular pet. However, stray cats in these velvet claws are more common than domestic cats, causing a devastating impact on biodiversity.
In Germany, there are about 15.7 million domestic cats and about 2 million wild cats. It is estimated that Australia has about 3.8 million domestic cats and 2.8 to 5.6 million stray cats.
However, since cats are still a relatively young species in Australia, other animals are unable to adapt to these velvet claw hunters and can easily become their prey.
The result is: since Europeans landed in Australia, cats have been estimated to have extinct 22 native endemic species. And it still threatens more than 100 other animals. In Australia, stray cats kill 1.4 billion animals each year. Experts estimate that cats across Australia kill more than 1 million native birds and 1.7 million reptiles every day. In addition, according to CNN, a recent government report also found that each stray cat in Australia kills 390 mammals, 225 reptiles and 130 birds each year.
In the span of one year, these wild cats bear the lives of 1.4 billion animals.
These killings from cats are particularly regrettable, as many animal residents in the wild world of Australia only live on this continent. It is estimated that 80% of Australia's mammals and 45% of birds are not found elsewhere in the planet.
"Australia's biodiversity is special and unique, forming in isolation for millions of years. " nature conservationist John Wonaski explained. "
"Many surviving animal species are now threatened and continue to decrease. If cats are still out of control, they will continue to eat most of the other animals in Australia. "
Australia allows cat hunting
To solve the problem of stray cats, the Australian government has taken strict measures in the past. In Germany, for example, animal protectors and municipalities rely primarily on capturing and sterilizing stray cats to curb their further spread.
The Australian government declared stray cats a harmful species in 2015. By 2020, more than 2 million stray cats have died by shooting, trapping or poisoning these animals.
As poisoning and shootings often mean long and painful deaths of stray cats in Australia, animal protectionists have repeatedly criticized this approach. Even environmentalists don’t always think that killing wild cats is an effective measure to protect endangered species.
Domestic cats should be registered, sterilized, and stay at home at night
A report released in February this year has clarified how to deal with stray cats in the future. The competent authorities recommend that the following three steps be followed for domestic cats:
1) Mandatory registration
2) Mandatory castration
3) Cat curfews, especially the last recommendation, are not enough for many environmentalists - because nightly curfews for domestic cats can only protect nocturnal animals. However, birds or reptiles, mainly during the day, cannot benefit from it. Another point of the " Noah's Ark " of the cat-free area as an endangered animal species is ". The aim is to expand the number and scale of endangered species reserves, also known as the "cat-free zone", where high fences are set up around it to protect the animals in it from stray cats.
However, some animal and species conservationists have questioned the effectiveness of this measure. Because the proportion of these fenced reserves is less than one percent of Australia's total area.
Can stray cats and native animal species coexist?
In a reserve about 560 kilometers north of Adelaide, biologist Catherine Mosby is looking for a different approach. For years, she has tried to keep stray cats away from fenced reserves and national parks.
However, during this period, she had placed the cats in a targeted manner. This is a creative approach: people want to protect local wildlife from changes in their surroundings, but reality tells us that this is not enough. People will have to intervene to help these species change themselves to adapt to the environment in which stray cats exist.
"For a long time, the focus has been on developing methods that can better kill cats. We began to think about how to hunt better from the perspective of prey. Was it helpful? Because in the end, we have to try to coexist. People on this continent will never be able to get rid of all Australian cats.
Preliminary experiments with large rabbit-eared crocodiles and prairie kangaroos have shown that individuals who have been exposed to stray cats have a higher chance of survival and will adjust their behavior to reduce their chances of becoming prey.
Observations are currently difficult to accurately explain. But they give us at least a little hope that local animal species may adapt to these introduced predators in the future.
"People always tell me that it can take a hundred years. Then I answered, 'Yes, this could take a hundred years. Then what can you do? 'I may not be able to or see this day coming, but that doesn't mean it's not worth it. "
Due to the development of human society, the earth and even the surrounding universe are also changing rapidly, which is often regarded as a bad thing. But if we can really help the wild animals on the Red Continent learn to adapt to coexist with stray cats through intervention, will it give us some new inspiration?