first off, I'd like to highlight that "feral #cats on islands are responsible for at least 14% global #bird, #mammal, and reptile extinctions and are the principal threat to almost 8% of critically endangered birds, mammals, and reptiles" onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.11…
In the United States alone, latest estimates of annual #bird mortality now estimated to be 1.3 to 4.0 billion and #mammal mortality likely 6.3 to 22.3 billion individuals.
The data available screams that #cats are a threat to #wildlife. I've already listed out species that have gone #extinct due to #cats. Let's talk about the species that are critically endangered due, in part, to cat predation.
👇👇👇👇
#1. Amsterdam Albatross (Diomedea amsterdamensis) is a colonial breeder on a single island, Amsterdam Is. in S. Indian Ocean. Threatened by many factors (cholera, cattle, etc.), #cats remain a threat to the chicks of 92 breeding #birds acap.aq/acap-species/2…
pic by @PterodromaM
#2 Island endemic Okinawa Woodpecker (Dendrocopos noguchii) nearly went extinct in 1930's & now has 50-249 breeding individuals. Deforestation is a major threat; as they forage on the ground, #cats have a steady impact on predation of mature adults. iucnredlist.org/species/226815…
#3 White-chested White-eye (Zosterops albogularis) is a single-island endemic of Norfolk Is.
"Control of predators (i.e., #cats) essential for this species to have any chance of survival, if it is not already extinct"
--@birdsoftheworld
#4 Orange-bellied Parrot (Neophema chrysogaster) is extremely range restricted in S Australia & only has 20-25 indiv.
"Deaths from random events, such as predation by foxes and #cats...are significant threats to such a tiny population"
--@IUCNRedList
Pic by Chris Wiley
#5 Guadalupe Storm Petrel (Hydrobates macrodactylus) has not been recorded since 1912, despite several subsequent searches, and it may well have been driven extinct by feral cats, with declines compounded by nesting habitat destruction by goats. iucnredlist.org/species/226985…
#7 Grenada dove (Leptotila wellsi) is endemic to the island of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. The threats it already faces (hurricanes, habitat loss) are compounded by fledglings predation by #cats.
#8 Bahama Oriole (Icterus northropi) has a small & declining population due to nest parasitism & predation by #invasive#cats, which are widespread across Andros. iucnredlist.org/species/227363…
#9 Once the most abundant landbird on the island, the Socorro Mockingbird (Mimus graysoni), is now #endangered. "Due to [sheep grazing] & #cat predation, which removes mockingbirds from areas with little understorey, declines in its extremely small range are considered likely"
#10 Cozumel Thrasher (Toxostoma guttatum) is a single island endemic #bird. The reasons behind its decline are poorly understood, but boa constrictors introduced in 1971, as well as introduced #cats and other mammals, are the leading hypothesised threat.
#11 Puerto Rican Parrot (Amazona vittata) faces many threats. In the small areas it's found in today, feral #cats are common in its habitat and represent yet another threat to this #EndangeredSpecies
#12 Balearic Shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus)
"Predation by intr'd #mammals is a major 🌎 concern for #seabirds... & a serious threat for this species... #Cat predation is thought to drive rapid declines locally" --@IUCNRedList iucnredlist.org/species/227284…
Pic J. López Álvarez
#13 The Mangrove Finch (Camarhynchus heliobates) is the most endangered bird in Galapagos w/ ~100 #birds left. #cats threaten young, recently fledged birds that were able to survive deadly parasitic infections & rats while in the nest. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P… @galapagossip
#14 Galapagos Petrel (Pterodroma phaeopygia) is affected by #InvasiveSpecies during nesting. #cats have been eradicated on some islands but are a big threat via predation of 🥚, 🐣 & adults on islands where they still occur
Pic @JonahBenningfi1 iucnredlist.org/species/226980…
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Do you purport to care about #conservation? Keep your damn cats indoors and minimize their threat to #birds, #mammals, & lizards.
#cats that are allowed to roam outside, feral or otherwise, are a major threat to our #wildlife and #biodiversity.
There’s fantastic studies on the threat to #wildlife that outdoor #cats pose in Australia. But don’t be fooled into thinking this problem is restricted to just Australia—#feral and free roaming cats are contributing to millions of wildlife deaths every year in the USA.
Thanks to @tiredguineapig for highlighting these fantastic Infographs in a recent tweet. We need these for Europe and the US!