Photo by jakesmome Girls having fun with the big cat on their backs. image:40966:12::0

The Sydney Morning Herald:

Critics say the savannahs, and an array of other fashionable hybrid cats, along with wolf-dog breeds, are slipping into Australia through a loophole in our biosecurity system.

Invasive Animals Co-operative Research Centre chief Professor Tony Peacock said some savannahs, which have cheetah-like markings, long legs and big ears, were more than double the size of domestic cats and could leap two metres from a standing start. He said early hybrids could weigh as much as 20 kilograms, but overseas breeders list first- and second-generation examples as being up to 14 kilograms.

And, with a few pedestrians to snack on, they could hit 50kg pretty soon.

The importer isn’t worried:

Mr Parker dismissed suggestions that the animals could threaten native wildlife, saying they would not be allowed to roam. The company demands that customers sign a contract stipulating specific housing arrangements.

"They can't just live in a one-bedroom unit," he said. "It's either an outdoor premises that is large enough or it's a special cat enclosure. We go to the extent that they have to supply us pictures and diagrams." He said he had already knocked back more than 50 requests and had refused to deal with people offering more money for a pet that had not been desexed.
The savannahs' outgoing nature and exotic looks have put them in demand.

"Most people call them a cat in dog's clothing," Mr Parker said. "If someone comes to the front door, the cat will come and greet the person with you.

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Feral cats are a big deal in some parts of Australia.

Although there’s some reason to think they mainly go after their normal prey, which are rodents, some say they’re destroying the wildlife.

The fact is that Australia has feral pigs, goats, cats, dogs, horses, sheep, etc. Every introduced animal has created a wild population and had some effect. The “super dogs” are a case in point, crossed many times, including with the native dingo, producing big, intelligent, dogs. Dog packs are exterminators.

An African cat, however, would be an unknown quantity. There’s the added interest that feral cats don’t make any distinction between rural and urban environments. They’re equally at home in both.

If they come in, they’ll go feral. There’s no doubt about that. Their effect on the wildlife, however, is debatable. They’re not big enough to handle adult kangaroos, which can kill a full grown hunting dog with a kick. The Australian bush doesn’t seem to like monopolies, and the snakes, ticks, and the competing predators would be difficult for any cat whose main claim to fame is being slightly bigger.

Dingoes, for example, systematically wipe out other predators in their area. They were reintroduced in one area, and every other predator was gone a year or so later.

One the other hand, the current population of feral cats has covered the country, after being unintentionally introduced by early shipwrecks and explorers. Feline settlement of Australia, in fact, predates European settlement by about 100 years. These are African animals, and they come from a tough environment, including some very territorial predators. They would have some chance, surely.

Maybe we shouldn’t have introduced people?