Feral cats can roam up to 3000 hectares, but it's hard to figure out why

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-06-09 03:00

New Zealand

What does this mean?

Jump to: MultimediaAttachmentsExpert Reaction

Feral cats have a disastrous effect on native species worldwide, and NZ researchers have extensively reviewed research to figure out which factors influence just how far a feral cat will roam in order to improve with pest management decision making. While the team found that male cats spread out more than females, they couldn't find other determining factors like season, competitors, or land use. The team says it might have been hard to find other clear influences on cat roaming ranges because of just how variable they are in the first place: a male feral cat’s home range could vary from around 22 to more than 3200 hectares, for example. The team says these wide ranges reflect the fact that cats are “able to exploit any opportunity” and call for more research to better understand what else might determine home range size.