A cull of feral cats on the Cayman Brac Bluff is set to begin in response to declining brown booby numbers, as the birds’ eggs are targeted by cats and rodents, the Department of Environment has announced.
A survey last year of the birds, which nest on the cliffsides of the Brac, showed “grim” results, with only 13 fledglings surviving out of the 42 eggs identified during the nesting season, the DoE said.
“Many of the eggs were observed to be broken or missing prior to hatching and a large proportion of the young chicks disappeared, representing a staggering 70% loss,” the department noted.
As the 2023 nesting season gets under way, the National Conservation Council has engaged the DoE and the Department of Agriculture to “manage the threat of feral cats and rodents known to hunt in Brown Booby nesting areas”.
The DoE said that in the coming weeks, members of its Terrestrial Resources Unit will begin feral cat control in the “remote, eastern-most sections” of the Brac Bluff around the lighthouse trail, where most of the booby nests are located.
It said the Department of Agriculture would carry out a “humane trap and euthanasia” programme.
“No traps will be set in any other parts of the island at this stage,” the DoE said.
It added, “Any microchipped cats trapped will be returned to identifiable owners, though this is not expected in such a remote area.”
Rodent mechanical snap-traps in secure bait station will be laid out in the area also. No rat poison will be used, the DoE said.
“Around the world, predation by invasive species like cats, rats, and dogs is responsible for the decimation of nesting seabird populations. Feral cats have been recorded on Cayman Brac actively hunting booby parents and chicks, making the impact to our Brown Boobies another reason why cats are identified as one of the leading causes of bird mortality around the world,” the department added.
This is the second cull of feral cats the two departments have undertaken. Last year, they carried out a cull of cats on Little Cayman, where the animals were blamed for decimating the young population of Sister Islands rock iguanas.
Brown boobies are among six seabird species identified by the National Conservation Council facing “imminent” local extinction. The council is working on a conservation plan to designate designate critical habitats for dwindling nesting populations across the Cayman Islands.
The DoE is also calling for visitors to the eastern edge of the Bluff to keep their dogs on a leash and give boobies at least 50 feet of space “to ensure they are not stressed as you pass”.
It added, “By working together, we might give our Brown Boobies the relief they need to breed stress-free and begin to recover their colony.”
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