Feeding time?
One thing that always puzzles me is why certain areas can get infested with pests even when their predators are also in the same vicinity. Let me give an example. There are some open space eateries that are rodent infested. These areas usually do have a few stray cats in the sauntering around begging for scraps. Yet the cats do not hunt rodents to extinction.
Some people will say that is because the cats are too well fed to hunt. This is not true. I have many well-fed pet cats that actively hunt other animals like cockroaches, lizards, birds or squirrels. It will be quite unbelievable to say that stray cats are not interested in rodents. Or is that the rodent-infested areas are just areas where the cats are not interested in rodents.
The other thing that I notice is that even though I do see a few raptors around my area, the number of surviving chicks and young birds in nests are still quite high. I can understand that certain birds possibly too small a prey for the raptors,. If the raptors are hunting for bigger prey, there are an increasing number of stray cats. These stray cats sleep on the pavement and on walls.
I can understand that some raptors prefer fish or birds. However, we do have pigeon infestations.
I am not so ignorant that I believe that all predators are dying to assist humans to remove our pests infestation. The predators do have their preferences, abilities or ingrained behaviour. The fact that we have rodent infestations and rodents are not a regular feature in our menus suggest that things are not that simple.
Some people will say that is because the cats are too well fed to hunt. This is not true. I have many well-fed pet cats that actively hunt other animals like cockroaches, lizards, birds or squirrels. It will be quite unbelievable to say that stray cats are not interested in rodents. Or is that the rodent-infested areas are just areas where the cats are not interested in rodents.
The other thing that I notice is that even though I do see a few raptors around my area, the number of surviving chicks and young birds in nests are still quite high. I can understand that certain birds possibly too small a prey for the raptors,. If the raptors are hunting for bigger prey, there are an increasing number of stray cats. These stray cats sleep on the pavement and on walls.
I can understand that some raptors prefer fish or birds. However, we do have pigeon infestations.
I am not so ignorant that I believe that all predators are dying to assist humans to remove our pests infestation. The predators do have their preferences, abilities or ingrained behaviour. The fact that we have rodent infestations and rodents are not a regular feature in our menus suggest that things are not that simple.
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