As the ongoing climate crisis ravages Southern Australia in the form of widespread wildfires, the death toll of the country’s wildlife increases. Earlier this month, experts estimated thatmore than 1 billionkoalas, kangaroos and other animals have died since the fire season started in September.
One unlikely contributor to this estimated kill count could becats.
In paststudies, researchers have shown that wild cats are attracted to recently scorched environments, where they will prey upon animals injured and vulnerable after the blazes.
Ecologist Hugh McGregor, who studies feral predators, toldWiredthat cats make ravenous hunters in the wild, even more so than other animals.
“They’re waiting and watching, and they will continue to hunt until every last prey is gone from that area,” he said. “It’s an extra level of meticulousness that a lot of native predators don’t tend to have. I feel like cats are more the mop-up crew.”
Erica Martin/HSI/Australia
According toCNN, Australian officials have previously implemented efforts to crack down on the abundance of feral cats in the country, estimated to be anywhere between 2 and 6 million strong.
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Humane Society Internationalhas also responded to the crisis, sending a disaster response team to Kangaroo Island, an island off Australia’s southern coast that recently lost anestimated 20,000 koalasin the fires.
The team is on asearch-and-rescue mission, scouring the scorched earth of the island for animals who managed to survive the fires, now in desperate need of medical help.
Along with pulling the animals from these inhospitable condition, the HSI crew is also setting up food and water stations to help “sustain uninjured wild animals in the area,” who are emerging from the disaster only to face starvation and dehydration.
Many of the injured animals that the team is pulling from the wild are suffering from burns, smoke inhalation and physical and mental trauma.
“These are some of the toughest scenes I’ve ever witnessed as an animal rescuer: the bodies of charred animals as far as the eye can see,” said an HSI spokesperson in astatement. “But as we set out each day on search and rescue, we’re still finding animals alive, injured, dazed or traumatized, and it’s such a relief to be able to give them immediate life-saving assistance.”
source: people.com
