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savage computed tomography were killing and eating baby crocodiles in Cuba , new evidence suggests .
That ’s troubling because the Cuban crocodile ( Crocodylus rhombifer ) is acritically jeopardize speciesthat lives only in Cuba’sZapata and Lanier swamp .
New research suggests that feral cats ate critically endangered Cuban crocodiles in 2022.
Several characteristics distinguish the Cuban crocodile from other New World crocodile species , include bony ridges behind the eyes ; an unusually curious , aggressive temperament ; and the power to leap luxuriously out of the water , harmonise toGeorge Amato , director emeritus of the American Museum of Natural History ’s Institute for Comparative Genomics and an expert on Cuban crocodiles .
The Cuban crocodile represents " a very onetime evolutionary bloodline " and play an authoritative role in its native ecosystem , Amato told Live Science . He has been working with the species since the 1990s .
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Scientists found the severed heads of three baby crocodiles in 2022, and several lines of evidence suggested that feral cats were to blame for the predation.
Only around 3,000 Cuban crocodiles are estimated toremain in the wild , so human race are trying to increase the population . Every year , the Zapata Swamp Crocodile Breeding Farm , the world ’s largest Cuban crocodile bringing up operation , releases some 500 Cuban crocs into the swamp , in the hope that they ’ll flourish and reproduce , Etiam Pérez - Fleitas , a biologist who ’s affiliated with the farm , tell Live Science in an electronic mail .
From October to November 2022 , the farm , which Pérez - Fleitas said manages around 4,500 Cuban crocodile today , stomach a serial of predatory onrush that killed 145 4 - calendar month - old crocs , according to an article print online April 19 in the journalHerpetology notation . In the clause , Colorado - source Pérez - Fleitas and Gustavo Sosa - Rodriguez report evidence that feralcatswere responsible for the attacks .
" I would say this is the first time that I ’m aware of that there is a hypnotism that feral cat might be a problem for crocodilians , " say Amato , who was not involved with the new enquiry .
Camera traps captured a feral cat entering the crocodiles pens.
The clue that cats were responsible for include suspicious marker and fur recovered in the vicinity . photographic camera traps also recorded at least one cat entering the crocodile pens . And on one juncture , farm staff see several cats feed on something nearby . When they went to investigate , they found " fragment of crocodiles , " according to the article . What ’s more , the attack cease a calendar month after seven savage cats were captured and removed from the area .
“ We did not get evidence of other predators present in these envelopment , ” Pérez - Fleitas said .
Both Amato and Pérez - Fleitas told Live Science they do not believe ferine cats represent an experiential threat to the Cuban crocodile , with Amato citing the stilted condition under which the attack occurred . After all , he pointed out , youngcrocodilesare not indite in large numbers in enclosed areas in the wilderness as they are on the farm .
Instead , Amato said , the findings underscore that free - roaming kat can wreak mayhem on environments into which they are introduce .
" ferine computerized tomography clearly have a substantial impact on gaga population — more so than I think hoi polloi recollect , " Amato said . " And it ’s not even just ferine cats . It ’s pet cats that , you sleep together , also are external . "
Ranked No . 38 on alist of 100 of the " public ’s bad trespassing alien species , " destitute - tramp catsare estimated to toss off billionsof birds and mammalian in the United States annually and have been implicated ina numeral of extinguishing worldwide . In response to the resulting terms to native ecosystem , some system and governments have adopted controversial moderation amount , includingtrapping , shooting and intoxication .
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In light of the plan of attack , Pérez - Fleitas said he and his colleague are " monitoring area where Cuban crocodile populations exist to reckon the sizing of the savage qat universe , if they survive in those locations . "
If the population are modest enough , sterilizing the male cats may be sufficient to protect the crocodiles , Pérez - Fleitas said .
However , " In places where populations were abundant , " he added , " alas our good word will be to use lethal method to reduce their effective size and then sterilize . "
