【】
Cats love to wander -- but just how far they go is pretty wild.
More than one dozen cats were fitted with GPS trackers to show the distance they roam from their homes. The end result was a series of maps, which provide fascinating insight into the travelling habits of felines.
The maps are part of a cat tracking project by the Central Tablelands Local Land Services in Australia and is all about educating owners on where their pets go when they aren't looking.
"Cats are given a pretty bad rap. In terms of the damage they do to biodiversity, to native fauna and flora," Peter Evans, a senior land officer, told Mashable Australia.
"You always get the comment from owners that their cat doesn't roam ... but we thought it was a great visual to show owners where cats go when they don't know where they are, because generally a lot of cats are unrestrained."
Credit: Central Tablelands Local Land ServicesThe project started in mid-March with 25 cats enrolled, but by the time the project ended in mid-May, only 14 cats remained. This was due to some GPS trackers disappearing or felines struggling to wear the harness with the tracker attached.
"Some people said when their cat was fitted with the tracker, it would lay flat on the ground, and wouldn't move," Evans said. "Ultimately the welfare of the cat was paramount to what we were doing."
It was up to owners to decide how long they wanted their cat to wear the tracker, with times ranging from one to 10 days.
Evans said owners were "gobsmacked" to see how far their cats actually roamed. It was so unbelievable to the researchers, that some of the long distances were first suspected as glitches in the GPS data. "I knew they wouldn't just stay in the backyard, but I was surprised with how far a few of the cats did go," he said.
Credit: Central Tablelands Local Land ServicesAs the maps show, some of these cats wander deep into bushland or check out other houses in the neighbourhood.
One cat was found repeatedly hanging around a local school late at night. Evans suspects it might have been going through bins for food or chasing mice as it spent a considerable amount of time there.
After seeing where their felines went, some owners took the step of changing how they look after their cats, with one owner deciding to keep their pet inside overnight.
Evans hopes the cat tracking project will extend nationally, with the potential to eventually work with the University of South Australia, which has also completed a similar project.
"We're hoping that people think about what dangers a cat can pose to itself, in terms of how often they're crossing the road and encountering other cats," he said. Keep them safe guys.
Credit: Central Tablelands Local Land Services[h/t ABC News]
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
相关文章
5 people Tim Cook calls for advice on running the biggest company in the world
It's only fitting that the leader of the biggest company in the world has a pretty impressive list o2024-09-20Everything wrong with the reaction to Louis C.K.'s "apology"
Well, it looks like the Louis C.K. apologists have at least pivoted to a different tactic than simpl2024-09-20Reddit bans board where men posted misogynistic content and even advocated rape
Reddit's crackdown on violent content continues with the ban of a board called "Involuntary Celibate2024-09-20Eminem and Beyoncé's surprising new collaboration brought out the jokes on Twitter
Eminem's new single "Walk On Water" came as a surprise on Friday—not because it means the Detr2024-09-20Tourist survives for month in frozen New Zealand wilderness after partner dies
A tourist from the Czech Republic, whose partner fell to his death, survived a harrowing month in th2024-09-20Trump Twitter notifications have completely ruined my year
On Nov. 8, 2016, Donald Trump was elected president of the United States and I made the horrible mis2024-09-20
最新评论