Look what the cat dragged in! Ewww..
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Ever had your cat bring you a mouse? A bird? A squirrel?? Cats are the second-most common household pet, but they’re also some of nature’s best hunters. How many different creatures do cats ACTUALLY hunt?
Christopher Lepczyk from Auburn University and his international team were curious.
They put together a database of animals that house cats eat around the world. This information was gathered from over FIVE HUNDRED scientific articles, books, and reports. Results?
Over TWO THOUSAND different animal species were identified! The incredible diversity of cat prey ranges from small insects to larger creatures like emus. That’s right, EMUS. Notably, nearly THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY of the species identified are in danger of extinction.
That doesn’t mean we need to get rid of our furry feline friends though! We can use this knowledge to guide conservation strategies, such as keeping more cats indoors.
Man… and I thought I was an adventurous eater…
Reference: Lepczyk, C. A., Fantle-Lepczyk, J. E., Dunham, K. D., Bonnaud, E., Lindner, J., Doherty, T. S., & Woinarski, J. C. Z. (2023). A global synthesis and assessment of free-ranging domestic cat diet. Nature communications, 14(1), 7809. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42766-6