Canis lupus hominis

Posted in Invasive species, wildlife | 18 Comments

18 Responses

1. on October 8, 2012 at 8:37 pm Pai

   “Too damn much” indeed.

   
   
2. on October 8, 2012 at 8:46 pm kittenz

   Sounds like a fun book.

   
   
3. on October 8, 2012 at 9:26 pm massugu

   Hey Scottie, from some of my previous posts, you already know that I agree that domestic cats are a terrible scourge on native fauna and that I endorse keep them strictly as indoor pets. The problem is that of cats being what they naturally are, thus they should not be introduced into ecosystems foreign to them (which, most of N.America.)

   But I found that site and infographic way too anthropomorphic. In my estimation, its means of delivering its message was akin to what one would expect to to find on AR sites. Sorry, but I gotta call ‘em as I see ‘em and I saw that one as over the top.

   
   
   • on October 9, 2012 at 2:36 am Pai

     It’s over the top because The Oatmeal is a comedy site. All his stuff is hyperbolic. ;)

     
     
     • on October 9, 2012 at 8:43 pm massugu

       I realize that Pai–but it still bothered me–perhaps because I could see the more gullible among us buying into the whole “murder” vibe. (Unfortunately, not everybody picks up on the humorous intent of such sites.)

       Our culture has a long history of attributing purely human motivations to other animals ala the Disney movies (its one reason we seldom have game on the dinner table in our house and also the reason that I’m the only one who’ll eat it–my wife has a distinct “Bambi-complex.” I dislike seeing anything that furthers that mind-set.

       Do I think that cats are a hazard to native wildlife? Yes, and statistical analyses consistently back me up on this (I can observe that my cat Chessie is a holy terror w/ any critter foolish enough to enter our home.) But is he a wanton, cruel sadist out to cause a maximum of pain before delivering the coup-de-grace? No, the whole notion of wanton cruelty is foreign to him. He’s just doing something that cats do naturally, something that has served his species well in the race for survival and that obviously gives him and his species as a whole a great deal of pleasure. Put ol’ Chess in the wrong place–my garden or yard for instance–and he would be an environmental wrecking ball–a one cat disaster.

       
       
4. on October 8, 2012 at 10:54 pm massugu

   This post got me to wondering if among all the small-cat hybrids, there were any authenticated cases of a Bobcat X domestic cat cross. The following page says yes but offers no real substantiation. Nevertheless, the page is, in and of itself, something that should appeal to both Scottie and his readers:

   http://theophanes.hubpages.com/hub/Animal-Hybridization-The-Truth-and-The-Myths

   
   
5. on October 9, 2012 at 9:40 am UrbanCollieChick

   Hilarious little site. Anthropomorphic, yes, but I get the point of it all. I’m sure if there were as many pet dogs left loose and ferals, they would kill about as much, but for a lot of reasons, that sort of potential problem has been amuch more aggresively curtailed in much of the first world countries. But I would bet you there are some remote, Ozarkish regions of the south or north in NY state, etc, that dogs left running loose is still an issue here and there, running game.

   I have friends with dogs that are on their property, fenced in, and they STILL kill wildlife. It’s just that it happens to wander into their territory ( groundhogs, possums, etc.) What about pet cats and birdfeeders? How often are those counted towards these numbers? It’s a kind of entrapment, no?

   
   
   • on October 9, 2012 at 12:17 pm Dave

     You can train a dog to leave animals alone; you can’t train a cat.

     
     
     • on October 9, 2012 at 8:47 pm massugu

       Hi Dave, actually you can train a cat to do many of the same things you can train a dog to do, but I have to agree that training them not to hunt would be just too contrary to their basic nature. Pouncing on small moving objects is an inherent, reflexive behavior in cats. It’d be akin to training a healthy, 17-year old, heterosexual boy not to watch girls.

       
       
     • on October 10, 2012 at 3:56 pm UrbanCollieChick

       True, but not everyone is all that successful with their dog training either.
       That’s why some dogs are said to “never be trustworthy off lead.” :)

       
       
6. on October 9, 2012 at 5:31 pm kittenz

   Cats don’t kill nearly as much as they’re blamed for, especially well-fed nuetered cats with a stable home. There’s a big difference in the way that house cats/barn cats and truly feral (raised wild) cats hunt.

   My own cats are a split group. I have 3 that live entirely indoors, 3 more that live outdoors but eat with the indoor crowd, and the other 6 are outdoor cats who eat on the porch. They police my home, barn, and buildings for rodents & snakes. All of them are spayed, neutered & fully vaccinated. Some of them hunt more than others, but none of them hunt very often once their kitten stage has passed. Almost all of the animals they catch, they bring to the porch (except Piper, whose larder is a stepping stone). They might kill 3 or 4 birds in a year. Far more common prey are house mice & rats (which live along the creek and on nearby abandoned property. They do kill a few voles and maybe a dozen shrews and moles. I have bird feeders and bird houses all over the place. The birds learn to avoid the cats & the cats learn that birds are just too much trouble to catch. In the spring, when I brush out the shepherds’ and cats’ coats, I put wads of fur into the shrubs and birds fight over it to line their nests. My cats don’t roam; they’re getting old, they’re not interested in girls(or boys) since the vet “tutored” them, and they are afraid of THE BIG BAD COYOTES that hang around the fringes of the property. I don’t have any close neighbors for them to bother.

   They keep my yard, barn, cellar and creekbank free or rats, mice and moles, and they keep copperheads out of the yard. I don’t think under the circumstances that they are making any more of an environmental impact than I myself am. They go walking in the woods with me, just as my dogs do, and they romp and play with the dogs and the kids and me. Except for playfully stalking moving leaves and butterflies, those certainly are not hunting expeditions.

   I agree that cats should not be allowed to run rampant in the woods/streets/fields/whatever. But well-fed, well-supervised family cats can be kept outside without unduly endangering wildlife.

   
   
   • on October 9, 2012 at 5:54 pm Pai

     Did you miss the part where the study has video evidence of this happening?

     
     
   • on October 10, 2012 at 3:55 pm UrbanCollieChick

     Whatever your cats are killing that you know of, probably only represents a small portion of the total. Unlesss you follow them everywhere when they go out, every minute?

     “Maybe a dozen shrews?” Is that in one day?

     I used to walk in the woods with my first cat. He stuck by me better than a lot of dogs do.

     
     
     • on October 10, 2012 at 6:20 pm kittenz

       No, I keep track of the animals and the bits of animals I find, The approximate totals are yearly. Of course they probably kill a few animals that I don’t see, but my main hunters, Buster and Gabby, bring their prey & lay it on a dish on the porch. Buster in particular seems to be offended that I don’t immediately prepare his beast kills for supper. I have seen both Buster and Halloween kill copperheads in the yard. The cats as a group do something really interesting when one of them kills a copperhead, Every cat who’s in the vicinity will carefully stalk the dead snake, then rush in and cuff (claws out) and/or bite the snake. They do not do this when the victim is a nonpoisonous snake.

       Now, I’m not an advocate of wholesale release of unneutered cats into the environment. That’s a terrible idea that has been proven to have terrible consequences, both for small wildlife and for the cats themselves. Cats need stable homes, every bit as much as dogs do. But there are uses for working cats, on small properties such as mine, When well fed, cats do very little predation of wildlife.. Mine hunt mostly in and around my cellar. By judicious planting of bird-friendly shrubbery and trees, and careful placement of bird feeders and housing, you can safely keep a manageable number of indoor/outdoor working cats.

       
       
   • on October 10, 2012 at 4:56 pm raeganw

     With all due respect to your experience, your anecdote is in direct contradiction to the evidence. The study specifically finds that “well-fed nuetered cats with a stable home” are killing wildlife, the cats that had cameras attached were pet cats that were allowed to roam free. For every dead animal you see, your cat has killed three more and eaten only one of them.

     http://www.kittycams.uga.edu/research.html

     The Oatmeal is presenting the data in a funny way, but their data is dead on accurate.

     
     
7. on October 9, 2012 at 5:55 pm kittenz

   However, if I lived in an area where endangered small animals would be at risk from their depredations, I would fence my cats into an escape-proof play-yard.

   
   
8. on October 10, 2012 at 6:22 pm kittenz

   I welcome them to come to my place and tag my cats with radio collars, and see who will have the biggest surprise at the end of the program.

   
   
9. on October 10, 2012 at 6:22 pm kittenz

   ^radio collars, or cameras

   
   

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