Bye Bye Feral Pests, Hello Native Wildlife: Christmas Island’s Threatened Species on the road to recovery

Christmas Island National Park saved an estimated 10,800 giant geckos, 4,200 threatened birds and over 380 critically endangered flying foxes in 2022 through the removal of feral cats.

Feral cats kill a variety of threatened species and native animals on the island. These include the island’s ground-nesting seabirds which are particularly vulnerable to feral cat predation.

Parks Australia staff at Christmas Island National Park removed almost 300 feral cats in 2022.  

The Albanese Labor Government is investing $4 million into this whole-of-island strategy with the ambition of eradicating all feral cats on the island by 2025, stepping up the program in 2022.

Parks Australia’s staff have worked with the Christmas Island community for more than six years to reduce cat numbers and protect the island’s native species.

The eradication program is combining several humane removal methods and technologies – including trapping and shooting – with a whole-of-island approach to keep reducing the remaining feral cat population.

The introduction of fifteen specially adapted grooming traps has played a crucial role in the whole-of-island approach. The solar-powered traps are equipped with automated cat detection technology and toxin-dispensing spray devices. They contain a camera and an array of image sensors that distinguish cats from other animals.

The traps themselves have also been modified to suit the unique environment of Christmas Island, where robber crabs the size of footballs can be attracted to baits and crush trap components with their claws. To avoid this, Christmas Island National Park staff have armoured the new grooming traps using upturned wheelie bins.

Domestic cat ownership is strictly controlled on Christmas Island. Only registered, desexed cats can be kept and no new cats can be imported. This means that the domestic cat population will eventually decrease to zero.

Quotes attributable to the Minister for the Environment and Water, the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP: 

“We know that feral cats – like other introduced predators – do enormous damage to our native wildlife. 

“Targeted and humane eradication of feral pests is one of the best actions we can take to protect threatened native species and

“Christmas Island’s wildlife is some of the most unique in the world. The Island is one of the 20 priority places listed in our Threatened Species Action Plan. That’s why we’re taking urgent action to protect the species that call the Island home. 

“Feral cats have had a devastating impact on Christmas Island’s unique native wildlife – they can kill up to eight giant geckos in a single night. 

“The Australian Government has invested $4 million over four years to protect Christmas Island’s unique wildlife.

“In 2022, more than 15,000 native species including threatened birds, bats and geckos have been saved on the island due to the removal of almost 300 feral cats. 

“Every cat removed from Christmas Island has seen scores of native reptiles, birds and mammals saved."