[TN-Bird] Re: Fw: cats are predators...but
- From: John Devereux Joslin <jdjoslin@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: jreese5@xxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2002 08:48:54 -0500
Ms. Reese,
You were right when you said you might have "fanned a flame."
You said that you had yet to see any real data or any "genuinely
scientific study" to back up cats being serious predators of birds.
Well, perhaps it is because you haven't exactly searched the scientific
literature to find any. Extensive scientific studies have been
conducted around the globe for decades on the issue. Here's a sampling:
A study in Virginia found that pet cats on average in an urban area
capture 26 native vertebrates a year, and in a rural area, they average
83 a year. This count was quite conservative since it only included
prey that the researchers could directly determine was killed by a cat
(and not ones that were consumed or killed and left elsewhere). About
one fourth of these native species were birds, the remainder being
amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals.(Mitchell, J. and R. Beck. 1992.
Free-ranging domestic cat predation on native vertebrates in rural and
urban Virginia.
Virginia Journal of Science 43:197-206)
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin conducted a four-year cat
predation study. Using data on the density of cats (free-roaming cats
reached densities as high as 114 cats per square mile, making them the
number-one predator), they estimated that cats kill at least 7.8 million
birds a year in Wisconsin alone (that is their most conservative
estimate; other assumptions produced numbers as high as 200 million a
year).(Coleman and Temple. 1995. How many birds do cats kill? Wildlife
Control Technology:44).
Cats are also a significant predator of birds at feeders (Dunn and
Tessaglia. 1994. Predation of birds at feeders in winter. J. Field
Ornithology 65(1):8-16). Cats are also credited with the extinction of
eight island bird species and over 40 bird species in New Zealand alone.
Cats also compete very strongly with many of our native predators
for their food sources. You rightly mention the loss of many of our
native predators. But important food sources for our remaining owls,
hawks, and falcons are often depleted by the approximately 40 million
free-roaming pet cats in the United States alone.
This is just a small sampling of the literature that I could easily
locate on the spur of the moment. Check it out. There are several web
sites on the subject. Perhaps someone out there can provide that
information (Help!).
You mention one study on the predation of quail, that indicated that
cats were not a problem but that cotton rats, snakes, and other mammals
were the major predators. But much of this predation is actually on
quail eggs, not exactly an item that the typical cat is interested in
hunting (unless it is really hungry) since eggs don't move.
And you said that your cat probably killed 3 or 4 birds a year at
your house. How do you know exactly how many? And even if that number
were accurate, try multiplying that conservative number times the 40
million free-roaming cats in this country, and, let's see, that would
make 120-160 million birds killed per year. Is this very conservative
estimate an insignificant number?
Dev Joslin
Oak Ridge, TN
jreese5@xxxxxxx wrote:
> Carol Reese
> Ornamental Horticulture Specialist -Western District
> University of Tennessee Extension Service
> 605 Airways Blvd.
> Jackson TN 38301
> 731 425 4721 email jreese5@xxxxxxx
> ----- Forwarded by Joan C Reese/ADAG/WEST/EXT/UTIA on 12/17/2002 10:45 PM
> -----
>
> Joan C Reese
> To: tn-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> 12/17/2002 10:33 cc:
> PM Subject: cats are
> predators(Document link: Joan C
> Reese)
>
>
> Carol Reese
> Ornamental Horticulture Specialist -Western District
> University of Tennessee Extension Service
> 605 Airways Blvd.
> Jackson TN 38301
> 731 425 4721 email jreese5@xxxxxxx
>
> I hear a lot of opinion about cats being serious predators, but I have yet
> to see any real data that backs this up. Quail have had a great deal of
> genuinely scientific study to discover their predators. If you go online
> and type in quail and predators, you will read that the most serious
> predator of adult quail is the Cooper's hawk. In fact, some articles
> speculated that the laws protecting raptors were part of the problem with
> diminishing quail populations. Owls were also a serious predator of adult
> quail, and then the mammals followed. Domestic or feral cats were rarely if
> ever mentioned in these studies as a problem. If you read about nest
> predation, turns out snakes are the worst in some places, raccoons in
> others. Opossums, armadillos, skunks, rats, were high on the list and fox
> and wildcat fell in there eventually. Coyotes were rarely problems, and
> again, domestic cats weren't cited as a problem In fact, in one study in
> Georgia, where management had decided to kill/remove the major predators on
> quail, the cotton rat population soared as a result, and they became the
> primary predator on quail nests. Cats would have helped out there, with the
> rat population, huh?
>
> I even found one article where someone made a serious proposal to start a
> program of poisoning Cooper's hawks to help improve the quail population!
>
> The argument might be made that quail are not in as close proximity to
> heavy cat populations as some other species, but most common suburban bird
> species are thriving, apparently adapting well to living with humans and
> their cats.
>
> My cats do kill 3 or 4 birds a year at my house - the old, the sick, the
> stupid. It is evolution at work. Heck, we've gotten rid of the cougar, the
> wolf, the bear, and damn near run off the fox and the wildcat. That is why
> we have too many deer. Deer and birds are prey animals to many other
> species. The real threat to wildlife is too many @%^*&!#* humans, and
> their enterprises.
>
> I hope I haven't fanned a flame, but likely I have. I know when I read that
> line about Terry's cat, I didn't cringe. Of the several bird chatters I
> know personally on this line, the majority have outside cats, intact with
> teeth and claws. No offense to the Florida guide, I'm sure his heart is in
> the right place, but then, so is mine...
>
> =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================
>
> The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with
> first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation.
> -----------------------------------------------------
> To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
> tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> -----------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, send email to:
> tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
> Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
> Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
> web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
> TN-Bird Net Owner: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
> jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx (423) 764-3958
> =========================================================
=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================
The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with
first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation.
-----------------------------------------------------
To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
-----------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, send email to:
tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
TN-Bird Net Owner: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx (423) 764-3958
=========================================================
Other related posts:
