Hello everyone,
On May 25, I posted a message concerning the problem of feral predators in conserving our native birds and mammals. In it I wrote:
>There was an occasion when the Australian Army carried out an
>exercise somewhere in southwest Queensland. It was an open woodland
>area. It was suggested and agreed that they should take the opportunity
>to shoot any feral cats they found in the area. It was reported that
>spot-lighting at night they found that almost every tree had a cat in
>it! Birds must be at some risk in such circumstances; small mammals
>wouldn't have a hope.
David Stewart has confirmed some details of this, which I could not supply. He writes:
> This happened when I was working on Letter-winged Kites with Jack Pettigrew in
> the early 1990's. Over 400 cats were shot. At the time it was the western side of Davenport Down > Station but it is now part of Estrebla National Park.
>
Unfortunately the surrounding cat population would have quickly filled the gap, probably within the same year. I remember my mother having wished upon her a female cat which was very fecund. In one year it produced 33 kittens and its' tally was up to 108 and it was still producing regularly when it died, probably of snake bite. For lasting effect, a feral-proof fence is essential.
Cheers
Syd
[Car sticker seen recently: "Missing your cat? Check under my tyres!"]
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