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| Dealing with rogue maneaters | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 10 2015, 09:41 PM (1,899 Views) | |
| ffejgao995 | Mar 11 2015, 07:58 PM Post #16 |
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Heterotrophic Organism
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No just the opposite. |
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| snap | Mar 11 2015, 08:43 PM Post #17 |
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Autotrophic Organism
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And it's especially concerning for a large carnivore to discover just how laughably easy humans are to kill. By not having any natural predators we have not had any requirement to develop the natural defences of it's usual prey. Once it discovers this it would likely give us a strong preference. |
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| Mesopredator | Mar 11 2015, 09:12 PM Post #18 |
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Disaster taxa
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Hey I understand you. There are many, too many, humans, and we have a big impact on the natural world. And both the population and consumption increase, causing more stress on the environment. But let's be realistic. We can't let man-eaters prey on humans. Even if there are so many people. There's nothing wrong with cats per se. But if they are left outside the owner shouldn't blame predators if it gets killed. I have lost chickens this way which is my fault, not the fox or marten who killed them. If a person brings himself or herself in danger knowingly, than (s)he is to blame if it results in death. Edited by Mesopredator, Mar 11 2015, 09:14 PM.
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| Inhumanum Rapax | Mar 11 2015, 10:58 PM Post #19 |
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Parabola Vita
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I know this. Where in my post did I blame cats for the destruction of the earth? Edited by Inhumanum Rapax, Mar 11 2015, 11:00 PM.
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| maker | Mar 12 2015, 06:57 AM Post #20 |
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Apex Predator
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You said cats need predators or they will destroy local wildlife, but it is only true for remote and isolated islands, there is no evidence elsewhere that cats cause decline in their prey, especially birds more than natural causes, populations: http://www.rspb.org.uk/makeahomeforwildlife/advice/gardening/unwantedvisitors/cats/birddeclines.aspx http://www.alleycat.org/page.aspx?pid=1028 These ferals should just be vaccinated and returned, there is no need to remove them, but in remote nonnative islands, cats, along with every invasive species, should be removed. Edited by maker, Mar 12 2015, 07:00 AM.
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| Mesopredator | Mar 12 2015, 07:40 AM Post #21 |
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Disaster taxa
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I think the issue is that roaming domestic cat populations can be artificially high. About that link, lack of evidence doesn't mean that there's no truth in it, or no impact. I find the arguments of the rspb weak. Most prey species do respond to predation, and it is true that animals die of starvation or illness. I do not know if the sick and old argument is that valid. I hear it often, yet I know of examples of predators preying on healthy individuals. They also just stated that lot of birds, sick or in need of food, die of non-predation. My problem is that unlike say the real, non semi-feral, feral cats, they do not reach a ecological equilibrium. Mesopredator populations are still spread because of food availability, competition from other mesopredators and sometimes their numbers are lower because of top predators - note that I do not think all predators necessary lower mesopredator populations. Roaming pet cats thus, are high in number, and defy the laws of ecology (unless pet cats also happen to have clear territory, in which case I might overestimate the problem). And yes on remote and isolated islands, also Australia, predatory species can have a huge impact because there's no co-evolution with the predators or any predator at all. That's why I can't take statistics of extinction by all non-native species seriously if they want to use it as a model for, say, Europe. Still (high) populations of predators can still have (local) impacts. We have no gulls breeding in our dunes, and groundnesting spoonbills anymore because of red fox predation. Raccoon dogs can have a local impact on vulnerable species. Etc. There's no doubt that pet cats can have an impact on species, but how severe it is? That I can't say for sure, but I do think they should be kept indoors as much as possible. Edited by Mesopredator, Mar 12 2015, 07:41 AM.
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9:52 AM Jul 11