g’Day all
Having spent a considerable amount of time in the Kimberley and Gulf of Carpentaria since the early 1970s, it has always struck me as interesting to observe the more uniform consistently smaller tabby appearance of many feral cats seen north of the tropic of Capricorn, compared to the generally larger and diverse coloured animals seen in southern areas such as Simpson and Strzelecki deserts. These northern cats appear to have the consistent appearance of a wild species compared to the mixed up look of domestic animals typically gone wild.
I once read a paper suggesting there was a close DNA link between Kimberley feral cats and those found in Sulawesi Indonesia and suggesting cats were in Australia long before the First Fleet. It was implied that Macassan traders who sought trepang (sea cucumbers) off Australia’s northern coast some 500 years before the First Fleet had brought cats here.
It may not be a popular theory that cats have been on mainland Australia for many hundreds of years. However it is probably true and irrespective of the fact that they take native prey, the major ecological impacts have probably long passed.
I can’t remember the paper with certainty but I have seen a reference that I think was it.
Baldwin JA (1980) The domestic cat, Felis catus L. in the Pacific Islands. Carnivore Genetics Newsletter 4, 57-66.
I would be interested in a copy of the paper if anyone has access to it.
Regards
Ian May
In smoky St Helens, Tasmania
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I’ve heard the theory that ships cats from Dutch ships landing on the nw of the continent introduced feral cats and a wave of them spread from the nw from c 1700 onwards and met a wave of cats emanating from the se in the C19. Evidence for this: Aboriginal people in the centre knew of feral cats, and hunted them for food, when they were first contacted by Europeans c 1880. They may have taken up names like *putjika*(pussycat) and *wi:lyka* (wild cat) because they noted Europeans had a definite name for the species, as opposed to the other naive spp of the area, and because their own names were of recent origin and not in any dreamtime stories.
John Leonard
I remember reading that too Ian, but I believe that the introduction of cats from SE Asia has been discounted.
One of the factors that had me doubting the hypothesis was that Aboriginal words for cats are generally based on English words, eg *putjika*(pussycat) and *wi:lyka* (wild cat) [probably poor examples as both words are from the Gibson Desert]. Words for dingoes are not based on English words.
Cheers
David
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The Makassarese most likely introduced the Dingo to Australia, so it is not hard to imagine them introducing cats.
Does anyone know if feral cats in this region have a preponderance for bob or deformed tails? SE Asian “feral” cat carry a bob-tail gene. A higher incidence of “bob-tails” amongst the ferals in areas of the North where Makassarese fishermen may have visited.
Cheers,
Carl Clifford
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