Les hommes ont oublié cette vérité. Mais tu ne dois pas l'oublier, dit le renard. Tu deviens responsable pour toujours de ce que tu as apprivoisé.
Le Petit Prince, chap. 21

Thursday 5 December 2013

Biology of feral cats on Macquarie

Brothers, N. P., Skira, I. J., & Copson, G. R. (1985). Biology of the feral cat, Felis catus (L.), on Macquarie Island. Wildlife Research, 12(3), 425-436.
A feral cat roams among baby penguins on Macquarie Island.
Photo: Geoff Copson/ Tasmanian NPWS

246 feral cats were shot on Macquarie Island, Australia, between Dec. 1976 and Feb. 1981. The sex ratio ( males : females ) was 1:0.8. The percentages of animals with tabby, orange and black coats were 74, 26 and 2 resp. [sic]. Of the 64 orange cats, 56 were males . The breeding season was Oct.-Mar., with a peak in Nov.-Dec. The number of embryos in the 14 pregnant females averaged 4.7 (range = 1-9). The size of the 23 litters that were observed averaged 3 (range = 1-8). Kitten survival to 6 months of age was estimated to be <43%.

More on Macquarie island cats

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