Black-footed rock-wallaby

Petrogale lateralis

Blamed on cats

IUCN status: Vulnerable

EPBC Predator Threat Rating: High

IUCN claim: “Predation by feral cats is also occurring.”

Studies in support

Cats hunt rock-wallabies (Paltridge et al. 1997; Read et al. 2018).

Studies not in support

Cat prey preference for rock-wallabies was relatively low (Read et al. 2018).

Is the threat claim evidence-based?

No studies were found linking cats to black-footed rock-wallaby population trends.

Evidence linking Petrogale lateralis to cats. Systematic review of evidence for an association between Petrogale lateralis and cats. Positive studies are in support of the hypothesis that cats contribute to the decline of Petrogale lateralis, negative studies are not in support. Predation studies include studies documenting hunting or scavenging; baiting studies are associations between poison baiting and threatened mammal abundance where information on predator abundance is not provided; population studies are associations between threatened mammal and predator abundance. Gold borders indicate studies that meet qualities of scientific rigour. See methods section in Wallach and Lundgren 2025 for details on evidence categories.
Evidence linking Petrogale lateralis to cats. Systematic review of evidence for an association between Petrogale lateralis and cats. Positive studies are in support of the hypothesis that cats contribute to the decline of Petrogale lateralis, negative studies are not in support. Predation studies include studies documenting hunting or scavenging; baiting studies are associations between poison baiting and threatened mammal abundance where information on predator abundance is not provided; population studies are associations between threatened mammal and predator abundance. Gold borders indicate studies that meet qualities of scientific rigour. See methods section in Wallach and Lundgren 2025 for details on evidence categories.

References

EPBC. (2015) Threat Abatement Plan for Predation by Feral Cats. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Department of Environment, Government of Australia. (Table A1).

IUCN Red List. https://www.iucnredlist.org/ Accessed June 2023

Paltridge, R., Gibson, D. and Edwards, G., 1997. Diet of the feral cat (Felis catus) in central Australia. Wildlife Research, 24(1), pp.67-76.

Read, J.L., Dagg, E. and Moseby, K.E., 2018. Prey selectivity by feral cats at central Australian rock-wallaby colonies. Australian Mammalogy, 41(1), pp.132-141.

Wallach A.D., Lundgren E.J. (2025) Review of evidence that foxes and cats cause extinctions of Australia’s endemic mammals. BioScience. DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biaf046