Feral cat (Felis catus) predation confirmed for Rothschild's rock-wallaby (Petrogale rothschildi) in the Pilbara

Hannah Anderson; Brooke Richards; William Ross; Russell Palmer

doi:10.1071/AM20069

Feral cat (Felis catus) predation confirmed for Rothschild's rock-wallaby (Petrogale rothschildi) in the Pilbara

Hannah Anderson, Brooke Richards, William Ross, Russell Palmer

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Rothschild's rock-wallaby (Petrogale rothschildi) is endemic to the Pilbara and Ashburton regions of Western Australia. This large species of rock-wallaby is currently not recognised as threatened but is poorly known. Feral cats are a serious threat to many mainland Australian mammals, including some species of rock-wallaby, however their impact on P. rothschildi is largely unknown. Here we provide the first account of feral cat predation on Rothschild's rock-wallaby, which was confirmed via genetic analysis. Common rock rats were abundant at the time and are the primary prey for cats, suggesting this was an incidental predation event by this highly opportunistic predator.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	169–172
Number of pages	4
Journal	Australian Mammalogy
Volume	44
Issue number	1
Early online date	Jun 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1071/AM20069
Publication status	Published - 2022

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title = "Feral cat (Felis catus) predation confirmed for Rothschild's rock-wallaby (Petrogale rothschildi) in the Pilbara",

abstract = "Rothschild's rock-wallaby (Petrogale rothschildi) is endemic to the Pilbara and Ashburton regions of Western Australia. This large species of rock-wallaby is currently not recognised as threatened but is poorly known. Feral cats are a serious threat to many mainland Australian mammals, including some species of rock-wallaby, however their impact on P. rothschildi is largely unknown. Here we provide the first account of feral cat predation on Rothschild's rock-wallaby, which was confirmed via genetic analysis. Common rock rats were abundant at the time and are the primary prey for cats, suggesting this was an incidental predation event by this highly opportunistic predator.",

keywords = "feral cats, incidental predation, Petrogale rothschildi, Pilbara, Rothschild's rock-wallaby",

author = "Hannah Anderson and Brooke Richards and William Ross and Russell Palmer",

note = "Declaration of funding This study was undertaken as part of a Threatened Species Offset Plan funded by Rio Tinto. Australian Premium Iron Management provided in-kind support for field teams at Red Hill. William Ross received funding from NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub and the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment.",

year = "2022",

doi = "10.1071/AM20069",

language = "English",

volume = "44",

pages = "169–172",

journal = "Australian Mammalogy",

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publisher = "CSIRO Publishing",

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T1 - Feral cat (Felis catus) predation confirmed for Rothschild's rock-wallaby (Petrogale rothschildi) in the Pilbara

AU - Anderson, Hannah

AU - Richards, Brooke

AU - Ross, William

AU - Palmer, Russell

N1 - Declaration of funding This study was undertaken as part of a Threatened Species Offset Plan funded by Rio Tinto. Australian Premium Iron Management provided in-kind support for field teams at Red Hill. William Ross received funding from NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub and the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment.

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - Rothschild's rock-wallaby (Petrogale rothschildi) is endemic to the Pilbara and Ashburton regions of Western Australia. This large species of rock-wallaby is currently not recognised as threatened but is poorly known. Feral cats are a serious threat to many mainland Australian mammals, including some species of rock-wallaby, however their impact on P. rothschildi is largely unknown. Here we provide the first account of feral cat predation on Rothschild's rock-wallaby, which was confirmed via genetic analysis. Common rock rats were abundant at the time and are the primary prey for cats, suggesting this was an incidental predation event by this highly opportunistic predator.

AB - Rothschild's rock-wallaby (Petrogale rothschildi) is endemic to the Pilbara and Ashburton regions of Western Australia. This large species of rock-wallaby is currently not recognised as threatened but is poorly known. Feral cats are a serious threat to many mainland Australian mammals, including some species of rock-wallaby, however their impact on P. rothschildi is largely unknown. Here we provide the first account of feral cat predation on Rothschild's rock-wallaby, which was confirmed via genetic analysis. Common rock rats were abundant at the time and are the primary prey for cats, suggesting this was an incidental predation event by this highly opportunistic predator.

KW - feral cats

KW - incidental predation

KW - Petrogale rothschildi

KW - Pilbara

KW - Rothschild's rock-wallaby

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Feral cat (Felis catus) predation confirmed for Rothschild's rock-wallaby (Petrogale rothschildi) in the Pilbara

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