Domestic Cat

Loved by humans for their companionship, the domestic cat would have to be one of the most successful species of all time. Effective hunters, as well as compulsive killers (i.e. hunting even if they aren't hungry) they are a major threat to small native Australian mammal, bird and amphibian species. And things get worse when they become feral.

According to the Australian Wildlife Conservancy "a feral cat kills between 5-30 animals per day". A conservative estimate puts the total population of feral cats at approximately 4 million. This means feral cats are killing millions of native animals every single day.

This species eDNA probe was developed to detect feral cats on islands or in arid areas. Could be used as part of cat eradication programs as another tool for monitoring.