People have abandoned hundreds of cats on a deserted Brazilian island. Officials aren’t sure how to save them.
Category: Pets & Animals
Via: hallux • 3 years ago • 7 commentsBy: https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/terrence-mccoy/
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
ILHA FURTADA, Brazil — Eduardo Mayhe Ferreira has heard the stories for years. There was an island off Brazil’s southeastern coastline that looked deserted but wasn’t. Hidden within the dense tree cover were hundreds of abandoned animals.
Officially named Ilha Furtada, it was known to almost everyone as Ilha dos Gatos: Island of the Cats.
It was rumored to be dangerous to visit. The cats had grown to the size of dogs and gone feral, people said. They would attack outsiders. One Brazilian reporter, writing of the “mysterious” island , claimed 750 “wild” cats roamed its jungle; others said more. The number seemed to climb with every telling.
Now Mayhe, a municipal veterinarian in nearby Mangaratiba, was motorboating across translucent waters to see for himself. Before this city-backed expedition, he had never stepped onto the island but knew enough to understand there was a problem. One rumor was true: Over the past year, as the coronavirus pandemic devastated Brazil, the number of cats on the island had grown substantially. Two distinct colonies had formed. The cats were hundreds strong. Each day seemed to bring more —
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I'm guessing there are few if any rodents left ...
Then those cats are going to hunt themselves to extinction
Check out the pictures...
In one of the UTube interviews an Older woman describes the terrible mice problem they once had, lol...
Wow...........in this case a picture (or lot of pictures) IS worth a thousand words.
Well, its not just Brazil:
Cats take over Japanese island
There is a tiny fishing village off Japan's west coast, where humans are outnumbered by a burgeoning population of felines. The locals call it Cat Island. Seth Doane reports on the scenic spot where scores of cats are proving to be a potent tourist draw.
But hey-- why limit yourself to just Cat islands?
If Cats aren't your thing...the are islands that specialize in other creatures as well!
How about...a Snake island?
Morning Krishna...at least we just don't have them on small islands...we have them everywhere.