• Asetru@feddit.org
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    16 hours ago

    “Humans are destroying the planet and drive a lot of the fauna towards extinction. Let’s blame…” spins wheel… “Cats.”

    • Bademantel@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      17
      ·
      16 hours ago

      Plot twist: They are there because of us! There are many reasons why biodiversity is rapidly declining. That doesn’t mean that cats are not wreaking havoc on the local bird population:

      • VonReposti@feddit.dk
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        15 hours ago

        Why are US numbers way off the chart for cats and windows? Is the US overrun with cats and murderous windows? How do you make sure the windows stay friendly towards humans? Do you export bad windows to Russia?

        There are so many questions…

          • VonReposti@feddit.dk
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            15 hours ago

            Adjusting for population the numbers should only be 10 times higher, 1.96 billion for cats and 250 million for windows. Cats are close to equal but I’m still concerned about your windows.

            • zikzak025@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              edit-2
              7 hours ago

              US has more regions with warm climates that birds live in year round. A lot of bird species only live in Canada half the year and then migrate south for winter.

              • Soggy@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                2
                ·
                5 hours ago

                We really need to emphasize data analysis more in school, that’s obvious surface-level stuff they just didn’t consider.

    • Lodespawn@aussie.zone
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      15 hours ago

      Yeah well cats aren’t native to Australia, humans brought them here so that’s on us, the common house cat is an apex predator here, cat owners need to take some responsibility for their murder machines or we end up with more 20 kg feral cats that can take out a kangaroo

      • Soggy@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        5 hours ago

        Nitpick, but cats aren’t an “apex” predator in any environment. They are hunted by pretty much every carnivore at least as big as a coyote, including large birds of prey.

        • zikzak025@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          edit-2
          3 hours ago

          They are in New Zealand, where the problem is worse than in Australia. New Zealand has zero native land predators. There are some birds of prey that can hunt invasive stoats and rats, but cats are effectively uncontested (with the exception of humans performing population control).