Another danger to birds is cats. Cats have killed countless birds and are possibly the second biggest reason why so many birds have become extinct. Cat lovers and bird lovers are fighting each other in what seems to me to be a never-ending battle. The passion and love that these animal lovers exude is powerful and their desire to defend them amazing! It seems impossible and cruel to take away, kill, or lock up the cats of the people who love them. However, the number of birds that have died by these predators is staggering! Cats are a big issue to the wellbeing of birds. Developing a peaceful solution between these two passionate groups will be challenging, but necessary, if we want to preserve the birds that I and so many other people cherish (Barcott). In my opinion cats count into the category of introduced predators. They are probably the biggest and most destructive of all of the predators that we have introduced into the habitats of birds that were not adapted to it. If we want to focus our energy on the introduced predator that is causing the most problems and would reap the greatest reward in bird conservation progress, I feel like solving the issue of household and feral cats is the best place to start.
This is the last of my posts on the current series I am doing, The Conservation of Birds. In conclusion, the birds of our world need our help. Scientists and the general populace need to work together to turn the future of birds around. Our world is filled with enough talent and resources to fix the problems that birds face. We just need to implement all of those resources and make compromises in our own lives to keep birds safe.
Our world is big enough for us both and we can’t take up all of its resources for ourselves because we need birds. If we want to continue to use the precious resources that humans have used for centuries, we must protect the other creatures that rely on those resources. My dream is to become an ornithologist, to study birds and discover more about them. However, if we destroy the bird’s homes, and also introduce predators to ravage their populations, then my dream will not be possible. Even if the environment does hold out for me there will be many other future generations of kids that will be passionate about birds. For their sake we should not destroy their dreams and passions before they even get the chance to experience the birds they were destined to study and love.