carnivore

Distribution and abundance

Carnivores are found worldwide, although Australia has no native terrestrial members except for the dingo, which was introduced by aboriginal man. Terrestrial forms are naturally absent from most oceanic islands, though the coastlines are usually visited by seals. However, people have taken their pets, as well as a number of wild species, to most islands. For example, a large population of red foxes now inhabits Australia, having been introduced there by foxhunters. Introduction of carnivores to new environments has at times devastated native fauna. In New Zealand, stoats, ferrets and weasels were introduced to control rabbits, which had also been introduced. As a result, native bird populations were decimated by the carnivores. Birds were also a casualty of mongooses introduced to Hawaii and Fiji, where populations of introduced rodents and snakes had to be controlled. In Europe, American minks released from fur farms contributed to the decline of the native European mink.

Because carnivores are large and depend on meat, there must be fewer carnivores in the environment than the prey animals they feed upon. The maintenance of territories limits the number of predators to the ecosystem’s carrying capacity of prey. In general, carnivores have a population density of approximately 1 per 2.5 square km (1 per square mile). By comparison, omnivorous mammals average about 8 per square km (20 per square mile), and herbivorous rodents attain densities of up to 40,000 per square km (100,000 per square mile) at peak population. Relatively low population density makes carnivores vulnerable to fluctuations of prey density, habitat disturbance, infectious disease, and predation by man. The mobility and adaptability of some carnivores has enabled them to shift ecological roles and survive changes brought about by human activities. For example, the red fox, coyote, raccoon, and striped skunk can all be found in urban and suburban areas of North America. In Europe, the red fox lives in most large cities. Most other species do not fare nearly as well. The gray, or timber, wolf and brown bear once lived across much of the Northern Hemisphere, but their ranges have shrunk following habitat destruction, reduction of prey abundance, and persecution as competitors with man. In Africa and southern Asia the same can be said for lions and tigers. Numerous cats and bears and some seals have become rare and are threatened with extinction.

Classification