Posted by:
amazondoc
at Thu Feb 18 18:48:14 2010 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by amazondoc ]
Interesting stuff.
For folks who don't want to read the whole article, here's the most relevant portion. Notice the long list of predators that the wood rat has to deal with --
"Or what’s feeding on them, which turns out to be owls, native snakes, fire ants, and invasive, exotic pythons.
Once Clay and Ralph thought they had discovered a new nest of woodrats because the signal from the collar had not moved much over a three-day period. However, under closer inspection, they discovered that the woodrat had been eaten by an eight-foot python; its radio collar was still beeping from inside the snake’s stomach. Unfortunately, escaped and released exotic pets like snakes and lizards pose a tremendous threat to wildlife in southern Florida, very often outcompeting, or even consuming, native wildlife. In fact, worldwide, introduced species are among the top five causes of extinction. Case in point: Sadly, when a necropsy was performed on the python, they discovered that in addition to the collared woodrat, there were the remains of at least one other endangered Key Largo woodrat as well inside. Clay said, “If you think about it, the python was a double felon, killing two federally protected animals, not just one.”
Though the python attack made national news, Clay was quick to point out that it was only part of the woodrat’s troubles. “We have thousands of feral cats in the Keys,” he admitted, “and against them they hardly stand a chance. So we try to educate residents about controlling their housecats and work for ways to reduce the number of strays and to never drop pets in the refuge.”" ----- ----
0.1 Peruvian rainbow boa (Amaru) 2.0 Brazilian rainbow boas (TBA) 0.3 Honduran milksnakes (Chicchan, Chanir, Hari) 2.6 corns (Cetto, Tolosa, TBA) 1,000,000.1,000,000 other critters
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