Wild cats are a serious threat to seabirds. On New Zealand’s mainland and a number of smaller islands, escaped or abandoned domestic cats survive by eating whatever they can catch in the wild. Birds nesting on the ground and in burrows are easy prey. Stoats, ferrets, weasels, rats, dogs, hedgehogs and wild pigs have also invaded the world of seabirds. Many other native birds, lizards, frogs and insects have been their victims as well. Because these animals lived without mammalian predators until people introduced them, they have not developed strategies to defend themselves.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Department of Conservation
Reference:
10055997
Photograph by Grant Harper
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