Yes there are cats – see them regularly on rabbit spotlight counts in various parts of the reserve. It would take a big effort to remove cats and more importantly
keep out new invaders. There are a lot more cats out there than people would assume. They bred in the koala enclosure at Tidbinbilla in 2000 and I have photos of one from a camera trap near Mt Aggie in the Brindabellas.
Cats are in the same category as foxes at the wetlands – to control or not and if so do we have the resources to keep them out. One off hits are a waste of
time/money as they will be rapidly replaced by neighbouring animals. We would need to ensure we have the resources to run an effective and ongoing control program before we start.
Michael Maconachie
Senior Ranger
Jerrabomberra Wetlands Nature Reserve
ACT Parks and Conservation Service
TAMS Directorate
0428 113 533
From: pardalote [
Sent: Monday, 28 October 2013 9:12 AM
To:
Subject: [canberrabirds] Cat at Jerrabomberra Wetlands
I visited Kelly's Swamp last thursday morning with a few other people as part of an outdoor education trip. While there was nothing too remarkable, we did see a pair of snipe and ~7 RNdotterels. Unfortunately there was a black and white
cat lying in the grass past the wooden bridge opposite of fulica hide. I don't know if it was feral, or just a domestic cat that was out for the morning, but what I do know is that it had clearly been eating well. Has anyone else seen cats at the wetlands,
and should this be reported to the rangers?
