Cats are killing India’s birds. Are we paying attention?

Subject: Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

The State of Birds in India 2023 report highlighted that the bird population in India is declining. And one of the reasons is a silent bird-killer in urban areas of India- Cat.

Landscape of fear:

One study found that cats may be the single greatest source of anthropogenic mortality for birds and mammals in the U.S.
Worldwide, free-ranging domestic cats have caused or contributed to dozens of extinctions of bird species recorded in the IUCN Red List.
A survey found that pet cats hunted birds the most, followed by reptiles, insects, rodents, and amphibians.
Due to their ability to climb, they hunt the nests of birds also.
Cat saliva is also more likely to contain bacteria (Pasteurella multocida) that are lethal to birds.

Trap, neuter, return:

Domestic cats (Felis catus) are one of the world’s 100 worst invasive alien species.
‘Trap-neuter-return’ (TNR) policy is adopted to control the population of cats and dogs.
There is no definite data of how many birds are being killed by cats annually or a specific time-period.

What makes Domestic cats a good hunter?

Its night vision and sense of smell are well developed.
It has a strong flexible body, quick reflexes, sharp teeth, and retractable claws adapted to killing small prey like mice and rats.
Although the cat is a social species, it is a solitary hunter.
As a predator, it is crepuscular,i.e.most active at dawn and dusk.
It can hear sounds too faint or too high in frequency for human ears, such as those made by mice and other small mammals.
It also secretes and perceives pheromones.