Chart of the day: Cats kill almost 2 million lizards a day in Australia

Updated

Feral cats pose a significant threat to Australia's biodiversity, killing more than 1 million birds per day, according to recent estimates.

But birds are only their second favourite snack, with new research estimating Australian cats — both feral and domestic — are eating a total of 1.8 million native Australian reptiles every day.

Researchers collated the results of more than 80 cat dietary studies to answer the question: "How many reptiles are killed by cats in Australia?"

Spare a thought for the scientists — the true heroes of this story — who collected a whole lot of cat poop to better understand felines' impact on native species.

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Topics: biological-diversity, animal-science, australia

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