Not exact matches
Based on evidence cited by USFWS itself, it's clear that a dramatic reduction in the number of free - roaming cats in the Keys (assuming it's possible — see below) will very likely have a negative impact on the
marsh rabbit population — and may well lead to their extirpation from any
Key where these rats are present.
Timothy O'Hara, Reporter for the
Key West Citizen In an August 30, 2011 story for the
Key West Citizen, Timothy O'Hara writes: «Research indicates that cat predation accounts for 50 percent to 77 percent of the deaths of Lower Keys
marsh rabbits and
Key Largo woodrats.»
Contributors to the 2008 South Florida Environmental Report claim, «feral cats... have contributed to a 50 percent decline in populations of Hugh Hefner's
rabbits (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri, an endangered subspecies of
marsh rabbit named for Hefner's contributions to their research) on Big Pine
Key (CNN.com, accessed May 20, 2007).»
In Florida, endangered species that are seriously impacted by hunting cats include
Key Largo cotton mouse,
Key Largo woodrat, Lower Florida Keys
marsh rabbit, Choctawhatchee beach mouse, Perdido
Key beach mouse, green sea turtle, roseate tern, least tern and the Florida scrub jay.
They kill several endangered species, including the Lower Keys
marsh rabbit,
Key Largo wood rat, northern bobwhite quail and hatchling sea turtles.
Some, like the Lower Keys
marsh rabbit,
Key Largo woodrat and some subspecies of beach mice, are teetering on the edge of extinction.
In Florida, domestic cats have been recognized as predators and a serious threat to the
Key Largo cotton mouse, rice rat,
Key Largo woodrat, Lower Keys
marsh rabbit, Choctawhatchee beach mouse, Perdido
Key beach mouse, Anastasia Island beach mouse, Southeastern beach mouse, green sea turtle, roseate tern, least tern, and Florida scrub - jay, all federal listed species.
Home to gentle manatees, playful dolphins, and tiny
marsh rabbits, Lovers
Key State Park is a beautiful and isolated 712 - acre preserve towards the south end of Fort Myers Beach.