Caught on camera: The impacts of urban domestic cats on wild prey in an African city and neighbouring protected areas
Domestic cats (Felis catus) have contributed to the extinction of indigenous species worldwide, but impacts in Africa are unstudied. We compare prey returned home from three questionnaire surveys (2009, 2010 and 2013/14) in Cape Town, South Africa, with footage from some of the same cats wearing ani...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989420307393 |
| _version_ | 1818174881491058688 |
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| author | Colleen L. Seymour Robert E. Simmons Frances Morling Sharon T. George Koebraa Peters M. Justin O’Riain |
| author_facet | Colleen L. Seymour Robert E. Simmons Frances Morling Sharon T. George Koebraa Peters M. Justin O’Riain |
| author_sort | Colleen L. Seymour |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Domestic cats (Felis catus) have contributed to the extinction of indigenous species worldwide, but impacts in Africa are unstudied. We compare prey returned home from three questionnaire surveys (2009, 2010 and 2013/14) in Cape Town, South Africa, with footage from some of the same cats wearing animal-borne video cameras (KittyCams), to assess differences in actual predation vs. returns. Cape Town borders Table Mountain National Park (TMNP), so cats may prey on animals in a protected area. Urban edge (UE) and deep urban cats (DU) did not differ in predation rates, but the suite of species killed differed significantly. KittyCams revealed that most predation was nocturnal, and only 18% of prey recorded on video were returned home, thus cats kill 5.56 times more animals (averaged across all taxa) than returns data suggest. Reptiles constituted 50% of prey, but only 17% of returns; mammals constituted 24% of prey, but 54% of returns. Non-native species represented only 6% and 17% of animals killed by UE and DU cats, respectively, pointing to a high cost of cat predation for native fauna. Applying a correction factor of 5.56, the average domestic cat in Cape Town kills c. 90 (95% CI = 59, 123), animals.year−1. Thus, the approximately 300 000 domestic cats in Cape Town kill c. 27.5 million animals.year−1, and TMNP is likely to lose c. 203 500 animals to UE cats annually from within its boundaries. The scale of this predation necessitates conservation options to minimise impacts of cats on wildlife, particularly near protected areas. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T19:51:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-28eb07dd94644e4d944bddccd215e2a3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2351-9894 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T19:51:27Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| spelling | doaj.art-28eb07dd94644e4d944bddccd215e2a32022-12-22T00:52:45ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942020-09-0123e01198Caught on camera: The impacts of urban domestic cats on wild prey in an African city and neighbouring protected areasColleen L. Seymour0Robert E. Simmons1Frances Morling2Sharon T. George3Koebraa Peters4M. Justin O’Riain5DST⁄NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa; South African National Biodiversity Institute, Kirstenbosch Research Centre, Private Bag X7, Claremont, 7735, South AfricaDST⁄NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa; Corresponding author.DST⁄NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South AfricaDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa; World Wide Fund for Nature - Zambia Country Office, 4978 Los Angeles Boulevard, Long Acres, P. O. Box 50551 RW, Lusaka, 10101, ZambiaDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa; Department of Conservation and Marine Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, P.O. Box 652, Cape Town, 8000, South AfricaInstitute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South AfricaDomestic cats (Felis catus) have contributed to the extinction of indigenous species worldwide, but impacts in Africa are unstudied. We compare prey returned home from three questionnaire surveys (2009, 2010 and 2013/14) in Cape Town, South Africa, with footage from some of the same cats wearing animal-borne video cameras (KittyCams), to assess differences in actual predation vs. returns. Cape Town borders Table Mountain National Park (TMNP), so cats may prey on animals in a protected area. Urban edge (UE) and deep urban cats (DU) did not differ in predation rates, but the suite of species killed differed significantly. KittyCams revealed that most predation was nocturnal, and only 18% of prey recorded on video were returned home, thus cats kill 5.56 times more animals (averaged across all taxa) than returns data suggest. Reptiles constituted 50% of prey, but only 17% of returns; mammals constituted 24% of prey, but 54% of returns. Non-native species represented only 6% and 17% of animals killed by UE and DU cats, respectively, pointing to a high cost of cat predation for native fauna. Applying a correction factor of 5.56, the average domestic cat in Cape Town kills c. 90 (95% CI = 59, 123), animals.year−1. Thus, the approximately 300 000 domestic cats in Cape Town kill c. 27.5 million animals.year−1, and TMNP is likely to lose c. 203 500 animals to UE cats annually from within its boundaries. The scale of this predation necessitates conservation options to minimise impacts of cats on wildlife, particularly near protected areas.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989420307393Animal-borne videoHuman-wildlife conflictKittyCamsThreats to species in national parksUrban biodiversityUrban conservation |
| spellingShingle | Colleen L. Seymour Robert E. Simmons Frances Morling Sharon T. George Koebraa Peters M. Justin O’Riain Caught on camera: The impacts of urban domestic cats on wild prey in an African city and neighbouring protected areas Global Ecology and Conservation Animal-borne video Human-wildlife conflict KittyCams Threats to species in national parks Urban biodiversity Urban conservation |
| title | Caught on camera: The impacts of urban domestic cats on wild prey in an African city and neighbouring protected areas |
| title_full | Caught on camera: The impacts of urban domestic cats on wild prey in an African city and neighbouring protected areas |
| title_fullStr | Caught on camera: The impacts of urban domestic cats on wild prey in an African city and neighbouring protected areas |
| title_full_unstemmed | Caught on camera: The impacts of urban domestic cats on wild prey in an African city and neighbouring protected areas |
| title_short | Caught on camera: The impacts of urban domestic cats on wild prey in an African city and neighbouring protected areas |
| title_sort | caught on camera the impacts of urban domestic cats on wild prey in an african city and neighbouring protected areas |
| topic | Animal-borne video Human-wildlife conflict KittyCams Threats to species in national parks Urban biodiversity Urban conservation |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989420307393 |
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