Domestic cats in the wild can have important ecological impacts

The domestic cats With access to the outside world, they hunt 2,084 species of animals such as birds, mammals, insects and reptiles, among them 347 (16.65%) for which there are reasons for concern for their conservation.

Cats are indiscriminate predators that “are influencing a broader set of interactions between species than previously thought,” indicates a study published today by Nature Communications led by Auburn University (USA).

The team calculated that domestic cats in the wild consume 981 species of birds, 463 of reptiles, 431 of mammals, 119 of insects, 57 of amphibians and 33 of other groups of animals. animals.

At least 347 of these are of conservation concern, including some critically endangered and others now thought to be extinct in the wild, for example the western quoll (near threatened), the green turtle (endangered) or Newell’s shearwater (critically endangered).

Birds, reptiles and mammals make up approximately 90% of the species consumed, while insects and amphibians are less common.

Approximately 9% of known birds, 6% of known mammals and 4% of known reptiles are identified in the diet of cats.

Taken together, the results show that cats are indiscriminate predators and feed basically on any type of animal they can capture at some stage of their life, whether as hunting or as scavengers.

The breadth of the diet of this type of feline is “one more proof of the many ways” in which they can interact with native species and “alter ecosystems, since they do not depend on any trophic level or taxonomic group.”

The results of the study, according to its authors, “highlight the extent to which a widely distributed invasive species interacts with species around the world, which is critical information” to promote conservation.