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Feral cats, native animals enticed with feather boas in Tasmanian forests, with surprising results
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-25/ ... /101368380
It seems that just like pets, feral cats — along with an eclectic ensemble of native species — are fascinated by feather boas, a finding that may allow scientists to better study animals in the wild.
Feral cats kill more than a billion native animals a year and have a massive impact on Australia's environment.
To tackle the problem, scientists are trying to understand where cats are and what species they share a habitat with.
Feather boas and other lures are being trialled in Tasmanian forests to entice feral cats and native animals to wander past camera traps.
Camera traps, despite the name, don't restrain animals, but instead take their photos.
"Camera traps are the bomb diggity," explained Alexandra Paton, PhD student at the University of Tasmania.
"They are the new way of monitoring larger vertebrate species, particularly mammals, we've got a network of them across Tasmania … they've been really successful."
Ms Paton's PhD research is trying to establish the effectiveness of different lures.
She set up 64 camera traps over four sites in southern Tasmania and tested the effectiveness of four lures:
More at the link with photos........................including an eagle that takes a selfie,
- ven elusive quolls were attracted to feather boas in forests.(Supplied: Alexandra Paton)
- 649af151b8b365ab7497376b5421617b.jpg (170.38 KiB) Viewed 647 times
