Australia's giant wildcat
The internet is often buzzing about how dangerous Australia is, full of creepy reptiles and great white sharks. However, the most destructive species on the continent are not the Belcher sea snake or the Sydney funnel web spider (both of which are the most venomous of their kind), but the invasive animal from other countries, the domestic cat.
While fluffy sunbathing on the couch doesn't look like a hunter, domestic cats are killers through and through. Cats were introduced to Australia around 1804, and about 15 years later they had established a wild population in Sydney. By the end of the century, they were spread across the continent.
Australia has been separated from the rest of the world for millions of years, forming a very specialized ecosystem with primitive mammals. With the exception of a wild dog (another invasive species) and a wedge-tailed eagle, the cat is not a threat in Australia and is a top predator.
According to the government, there are about 18 million wild cats in Australia, which kill about 75 million native animals every day. It is believed that cats have at least partially contributed to the extinction of several species. In recent years, this scourge has become more and more terrifying as Australian cats have gotten bigger. The largest cat is close to 20 kilograms, twice as large as the Maine cat.
According to reports, a cat photographed in Gippsland, Australia, is more than 1.5 meters long, and from a distance, a black cat that is so big is really scary.
