5 ms·
TL;DR: Six owls that burrow underground (how's that for an adaptation?) used to live in a Mountain View park. Over the past three years, three of these have bee
by baryphonic 8y ago
TL;DR: Six owls that burrow underground (how's that for an adaptation?) used to live in a Mountain View park. Over the past three years, three of these have been killed or gone missing. Environmental activists have traced these deaths and disappearances to cats nurtured by a Google employee group that feeds feral cats, along with spaying or neutering them. Google has devoted significant resources to helping these birds survive in other places, but environmentalists feel that Google is not doing enough about the feral cat population; in particular, activists worry that the large number of feral cats represents a slippery slope toward destroying biodiversity in this particular park.
- qop 8y agoDestroying biodiversity is a stretch, it's only three owls... Also, burrowing owls are Least Concern on IUCN red list. (Least Concern is their terminology, not mine, I don't agree with it) So it's not like there's really any merit to the claim that a few cars they fed, who then killed three owls, is "destroying biodiversity" It's not that slippery a slope. It's just cats. If they were teaching them and hunting these owls, obviously thatd be different, but they're not. Gosh, I hate Google too but it's like they literally can't even feed stray cats without some sort of controversy from the media or online pseudoactivists.
- ageofwant 8y agoYou should absolutely not feed feral cats, unless its 1080, or Curiosity[1]. Just the idea of feeding feral cats is patently absurd, Google employees should bloody well know better. [1] http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2016-11-16/curiosity-cat-bait-needs-commercial-partner/8031270 http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2016-11-16/curiosity-cat-ba...