A Burmese python with a tracking device led Florida officials to a sex party

[Valyrian]

I'd imagine the tegus / monitors are a much larger threat... omnivorous, more intelligent, better climbers, etc. I'd imagine they could easily wipe out birds (eating them and eggs) lizards, snakes, etc. And, I think they are more cold-tolerant, or at least better at burrowing and finding ways around colder weather. Burms are very susceptible to URIs if not at the right temps, so that probably helps control them. I've read that they are not spreading northward, unlike the tegu and monitors.

I think the bigger overall threat is pollution, habitat destruction, etc. (sugar cane fields anyone?). I think it is in FFW's best interests to also overstate their numbers, etc. as they get more funding for eradication projects based on those numbers.

I do think the methods they used in this scenario are very interesting. I'd like to see USFW put as much effort into eradicating feral cats... But that won't happen because people would freak out if they started killing off strays. Don't get me wrong, I own a cat and love them (mine is indoors only) but they crush the local ecosystems they are in and unlike snakes, can survive cold quite well. I've read that feral cats kill an average of one native bird a day and that they will kill / hunt even when full. Same goes for "outdoor" cats that people own.

You're correct, cats have caused the extinction of 33 native species worldwide and counting. And it's not just feral cats. Yet for some reason Burmese pythons are the bigger problem while cats are allowed to wipe out entire species. That's insane to me.






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[Kcl]

I was wondering like feral cats they found killing did more harm than good so TNR was enforced so it would not cause the vacuum effect could we do the same with snakes?

TNR is not actually better than trapping and euthanasia for reducing cat populations. That's mostly just pushed by feral cat advocates based on misinterpretation of a couple studies. Those same cat advocates tend to be much more helpful with giving information on how to shelter and feed feral cats than how to actually get any of the cats fixed. Trapping and euthanasia of feral cats is generally thought to be far more effective and cheaper, but it's unpopular.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23009077

[tttaylorrr]

You're correct, cats have caused the extinction of 33 native species worldwide and counting. And it's not just feral cats. Yet for some reason Burmese pythons are the bigger problem while cats are allowed to wipe out entire species. That's insane to me.

cats are actually responsible for more than 100 extinctions and they kill almost 1 billion birds each year.* an ecologist who did an AMA on reddit a while back said cat populations are far more dangerous and are a bigger threat than any Burms in the Everglades.

_{*feral cats; cats with owners/outdoor cats were responsible for 300 million of that one billion.}

[Valyrian]

cats are actually responsible for more than 100 extinctions and they kill almost 1 billion birds each year.* an ecologist who did an AMA on reddit a while back said cat populations are far more dangerous and are a bigger threat than any Burms in the Everglades.

_{*feral cats; cats with owners/outdoor cats were responsible for 300 million of that one billion.}

I understand how people feel when they tell me they hate snakes because that's how I feel about cats

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[Alter-Echo]

I say we toss all the feral cats and burms in a pit and let them fight it out, thunderdome style.

[Godzilla78]

I say we toss all the feral cats and burms in a pit and let them fight it out, thunderdome style.

Amen brother