Diet of feral cats in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park

S.C. Hess; H. Hansen; D. Nelson; R. Swift; P.C. Banko

doi:10.1071/pc070244

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Diet of feral cats in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park

S.C. Hess·H. Hansen·D. Nelson·R. Swift·P.C. Banko

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Abstract

We documented the diet of feral cats by analysing the contents of 42 digestive tracts from Kilauea and Mauna Loa in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. Small mammals, invertebrates, and birds were the most common prey types consumed by feral cats. Birds occurred in 27.8-29.2% of digestive tracts. The total number of bird, small mammal, and invertebrate prey differed between Kilauea and Mauna Loa. On Mauna Loa, significantly more (89%) feral cats consumed small mammals, primarily rodents, than on Kilauea Volcano (50%). Mice ( Mus musculus ) were the major component of the feral cat diet on Mauna Loa, whereas Orthoptera were the major component of the diet on Kilauea. We recovered a mandible set, feathers, and bones of an endangered Hawaiian Petrel ( Pterodroma sandwichensis ) from a digestive tract from Mauna Loa. This specimen represents the first well-documented endangered seabird to be recovered from the digestive tract of a feral cat in Hawai'i and suggests that feral cats prey on this species.

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Pacific Conservation Biology Article

Source-reported bounding extent: 19.075097242124496° to 19.702071807656804° latitude; -155.79437255859372° to -154.96765136718747° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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S.C. Hess, H. Hansen, D. Nelson, R. Swift, P.C. Banko. 2007. Diet of feral cats in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. https://doi.org/10.1071/pc070244

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