The Kangaroo Island dunnart isn't as well-known as koalas, opossums, or kangaroos, but it is one of the rarest marsupials. Kangaroo Island, off the coast of South Australia, is home to the adorable mouse-sized creature. Only 500 of the tiny creatures remain, according to experts, and they are threatened by wild cats.
Louis Lignereux and the team analyzed the effect of feral cat predation on Kangaroo Island dunnarts by examining the stomach contents and digestive tracts of 86 feral cats captured in specially designated conservation areas on the island between February and August 2020.
All of the cats were caught as part of the national feral cat control program and euthanized following South Australian animal welfare laws. The authors discovered the remains of eight different Kangaroo Island dunnarts in the stomachs of seven different cats (8.1% of sampled cats).
These findings are the first confirmation that feral cats prey on Kangaroo Island dunnarts, implying that they are effective hunters of this species provided the small number of dunnarts that remain after the bushfires.
According to the authors, the combined pressures of a small, isolated population, natural disasters such as bushfires, and overhunting from introduced predators such as feral cats could lead to the extinction of these endangered animals. They emphasize the importance of keeping feral cat populations under control in areas where threatened species live.
A study published on Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports looked into the threat that cats pose to the small surviving population of Kangaroo Island dunnarts.
The stomachs and digestive tracts of 86 feral cats gathered from conservation areas on the island between February and August 2020 were examined by the researchers. Seven of those cats tested positive for the remains of eight various Kangaroo Island dunnarts, indicating a much larger problem.
"Our findings confirm for the first time that feral cats predate on KI dunnart and that they were effective hunters of this species immediately following the fire," the research team reported.
The team also discovered the remains of an endangered bandicoot, outlining the threats that feral cats pose to other endangered species.
The feral cat eradication project on Kangaroo Island is part of a government effort to lessen the impact of invasive cats on native wildlife. Cats are apprehended and euthanized. "Should the eradication program succeed," said the KI Landscape Board in an explainer, "Kangaroo Island 3.will become the largest inhabited island free of feral cats - generating massive benefits to the island's ecosystems and economy."
