Feral Cats as Predators of Koalas

Feral cats are emerging as surprise and unexpected predators of koalas. Previously, no one even suspected that these cats were fully capable of preying on koalas. Young koala joeys are specifically the prime targets of these feral cats due to their small size and defenselessness. Young juvenile koalas are not even safe from them on trees, as these feral cats are expert tree climbers and are capable of hunting them at any given opportunity. Moreover, helpless koala mothers can't do anything for their joeys against these agile, stealthy, and pouncing feral cats. In fact, the predation of koalas by feral cats has become a nuisance for koala conservation programs.

Feral Cats Statistics in Australia

Statistic	Value
Total Numbers	20 million
Predation Per Week	80 million species
Bushfire Hunting	Up by 41 percent
Australian Distribution	99 percent
Islands' Distribution	80 percent

According to the data collected, there are about 20 million feral cats throughout the Australian continent, and they are a big threat to koalas. According to some estimates, they eat about 80 million species per week. Large numbers of Australian species have already become extinct because of these feral cats, e.g., paradise parrots, long-tailed hopping mice, short-tailed hopping mice, etc. Koalas have been on their menu for a long time now. Shockingly they have more than 99 percent distribution throughout the Australian continent. Even Australian islands are not free of these feral cats as these cats constitute a whopping 80 percent presence on islands. Therefore, no koala habitat is safe from them and koalas are indeed vulnerable.

Feral cats are opportunistic hunters. During the bushfires, they become opportunistic hunters by preying on evacuating and migrating animal species including koalas. According to some estimates, feral cats increase their hunting by 41 percent during the bushfire season. Therefore, feral cats are a big hindrance to the rescue program of koala relocation, recovery, and rehabilitation during bushfires. Surprisingly, each feral cat has a huge territorial range of 18 miles. Moreover, feral cats have a very high reproduction rate as compared to koalas.

Lastly, feral cats are the non-indigenous predators of koalas. The Australian continent never had any cat species until the arrival and introduction of these feral cats. They were only introduced during the 17th century on the Australian continent by the western dwellers. And from that moment onwards koalas who were not aware of these new predators have started to become their victims. There have been a lot of campaigns to stop this huge rise of feral cats in Australia by killing them. No matter how harsh and merciless it seems, this is the way forward to save Australia's native animals for conservationists.

References

1. Vice, n.d.. Kangaroos and koalas are dying in Australia’s hellfires, wild brumbies and feral cats are taking over. [Accessed 24 Dec. 2024].
2. Vice, n.d.. Feral cats cover 99 percent of Australia. [Accessed 24 Dec. 2024].
3. Vice, n.d.. Shooting cats: Inside Australia's violent war on feral cats. [Accessed 24 Dec. 2024].
4. The Conversation, n.d.. Toxoplasmosis: How feral cats kill wildlife without lifting a paw. [Accessed 24 Dec. 2024].