Red Dwarf Ping!
Posted on 03/30/2021 2:31:38 PM PDT by Eleutheria5
It may no longer be enough to protect species like Australia's marsupials from predators – we may have to assist in their evolution if they are to survive the 21st Century. "I spent 15 years removing cats from fenced reserves and national parks," says Katherine Moseby. "And then, all of a sudden, I was putting them back in. It felt very strange to be doing that."
.....
"A lot of the focus has been on trying to come up with methods of killing cats better," says Moseby, who holds a PhD in reintroduction biology. "And we sort of started looking at it from the prey perspective, like, what about if we make prey better? Will that help? Because ultimately coexistence is where we're trying to get to. We're not going to ever get rid of every cat in the whole of Australia."
It's estimated that there are as many as six million feral cats in the country, and that they kill some 800 million native animals annually. (Foxes, also introduced by the British, are very nearly as widespread. They are somewhat easier to control, though, because they will more readily eat poison bait.)
Over the last several years, Moseby and her colleagues at Arid Recovery have experimented with two threatened marsupial species: the greater bilby, which looks like a small rabbit with a long nose, and the burrowing bettong, also known as the boodie, which has a squirrel-like face, skinny hind legs, and a long tail. They've added a small number of cats to some of the paddocks and then painstakingly recorded the results. The idea is to put enough pressure on the marsupials to produce behavioural or – even better – evolutionary change, but not so much pressure that all the animals wind up dead.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
What kinda cats? Meow Cats, Lion Cats, Cool Cats?
Great work if you can find it.
Hep cats.
How about birth control?
Don’t even get started on wascally wabbits to an Aussie. They weren’t native but oh boy did they multiply once introduced.
we could send them some coyotes
they like cats
Red Dwarf Ping!
The idea is to put enough pressure on the marsupials to produce behavioural or - even better - evolutionary change, but not so much pressure that all the animals wind up dead.
—
And if Darwin’s half-baked theory does not work? Evolution takes millions of years at best - how many native animals will survive on the Down Under Continent of Cats?
Australia has a great record on predator/prey intervention. Cane Toad!!
The humanitarian urge is to keep finding ways to ‘protect’ the more delicate marsupial species such as the Bilby or the Boodie, but they can’t be kept alive under artificial conditions forever. Eventually, one has to step back, letting nature and fate take their course.
To continue shielding these animals from predators in the wild, by Man’s constant intervention risks upsetting some other type of balance.
If these animals are seen as precious, best to take a few dozen into a zoo or maintained sanctuary.
No species is exempt from the laws of nature, including Man.
Maybe the dingo ate your baby!
Hunter Biden, after consuming some ‘Bad’ microdot acid.
Are they giving Australian women boxed wine as well?
I think the problem is that humans eliminated most of the large predators in Australia/Tasmania/New Zealand when we migrated there thousands of years ago. So this eased the pressure on a lot of “prey” species, and that probably wasn’t to their benefit in the long term.
Every species was invasive at some point.
Open more Chinese food restaurants, problem solved
How about death control?
Southern Florida is absolutely full of CaneToads.
I now carry a 10’ metal closet rod that has a sharpened angled cut on one end.
When I go for my evening walks, I give them a poke. They don’t hop again!
Some friends have been using their spare golf clubs but found that even after a hard drive, the toads will still hop away (after getting over their headaches)!!
My record in an evening was 72. But regularly get 40-50 of ‘em in a night.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.