Cats: Birds no.1 enemy
While public attention has focused on wind turbines as a menace to birds, a new study shows that a far greater threat may be posed by a more familiar antagonist: the pet house cat.
The American study set out to examine the survival rates of gray catbird fledglings in three suburban parks in Washington. Researchers fixed tiny radio transmitters to the birds to monitor their progress between May and September.
After tracking baby gray catbirds with miniature radio transmitters, biologists found that cats were by far the #1 bird killer: 47 percent of the birds died at the paws of pet and feral felines (out of 80 percent that were killed by predators in general). This echoes some biologists’ view that cats are a destructive, human-assisted invasive species: “Cats are way up there in terms of threats to birds — they are a formidable force in driving out native species,” said one of the authors of the study.
The studies have found that feral cat predation on birds costs billions of dollars in economic loss every year. To help stop the slaughter of millions of birds by their longtime arch-enemy, President Obama announced his plans to impose a “fly zone”.
The American study set out to examine the survival rates of gray catbird fledglings in three suburban parks in Washington. Researchers fixed tiny radio transmitters to the birds to monitor their progress between May and September.
After tracking baby gray catbirds with miniature radio transmitters, biologists found that cats were by far the #1 bird killer: 47 percent of the birds died at the paws of pet and feral felines (out of 80 percent that were killed by predators in general). This echoes some biologists’ view that cats are a destructive, human-assisted invasive species: “Cats are way up there in terms of threats to birds — they are a formidable force in driving out native species,” said one of the authors of the study.
The studies have found that feral cat predation on birds costs billions of dollars in economic loss every year. To help stop the slaughter of millions of birds by their longtime arch-enemy, President Obama announced his plans to impose a “fly zone”.
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