Think of cats as cute purring bundles of fur? Think again. A new study says free-roaming kitties are serious killers.
Such cats are a leading cause of deaths of birds and small mammals in the US, with pet and ownerless cats blamed for killing up to 3.7 billion birds and as many as 20.7 billion other animals each year, government scientists said in a study released on Jan. 29.
Ownerless cats, including barn cats, strays and feral colonies, are behind the vast majority of bird and mammal deaths, according to the study, “The impact of free-ranging cats on wildlife in the US,” published on Jan. 29 in the online journal Nature Communications.
Photo: Reuters
照片:路透
The findings by researchers with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and the US Fish and Wildlife Service show that the bulk of birds killed by cats in the US — excluding Alaska and Hawaii — were native species.
Cats largely prey on non-native mice and rats in densely populated urban areas where native wildlife is scarce, the research shows.
By contrast, cats in suburban and rural areas kill mostly native mice, shrews, voles, squirrels and rabbits.
Domestic cats are considered among the 100 worst non-native invasive species in the world, yet control of the creatures has not been widely addressed by local, state and federal governments, the study shows.
(Reuters)
你以為貓是可愛又會呼嚕呼嚕叫的小毛球嗎?再想一想吧。一項新研究發現,自由遊走的小貓咪其實是恐怖的殺手。
政府科學家在一月二十九日公佈的研究中指出,貓是美國鳥類與小型哺乳類動物的主要死因,家貓與無人飼養的貓一年殺害三十七億隻鳥,以及多達兩百零七億隻其他動物。
根據這份一月二十九日發表於線上期刊《自然通訊》題為「自由放養的貓對美國野生動物的影響」的報告,絕大多數鳥類和哺乳動物死亡都與無人飼養的貓有關,包含農倉的貓、流浪貓、野貓等。
史密森保育生物學研究所和美國魚類暨野生動物管理局研究人員發現,除阿拉斯加州和夏威夷外,美國貓獵殺的大量鳥類多是原生種。
研究顯示,在人口稠密的都市區,原生野生動物稀少,貓多半獵食非原生的大小老鼠。
相較之下,郊區和鄉下的貓大部分捕食原生的小老鼠、鼩鼱、田鼠、松鼠和野兔。
研究顯示,家貓是世界前百大最具侵略性外來物種之一,但地方、州和聯邦政府尚未著手控制這種生物。
(路透/翻譯:陳維真)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into