Home ranges and use of built resources by feral cats (Felis catus) in Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales, Australia

Kåren Watson; Chris R. Dickman; Linda Broome

doi:10.1071/PC25030

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Home ranges and use of built resources by feral cats (Felis catus) in Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales, Australia

Kåren Watson ^A , Chris R. Dickman

^A ^* and Linda Broome ^B

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

^B Ecosystems and Threatened Species (South East Branch), NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, The Environment and Water, Jindabyne, NSW, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: chris.dickman@sydney.edu.au

Handling Editor: Harriet Mills

Pacific Conservation Biology 31, PC25030 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC25030

Submitted: 14 April 2025 Accepted: 18 August 2025 Published: 5 September 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

We radio-tracked three feral cats (Felis catus) over a period of 15 months in the Perisher Range ski resort area of Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales, and show that they were active year round above the winter snowline. In winter the home ranges of two adult male feral cats were contracted to built areas of the resorts that provided shelter and possibly opportunities for food scavenging, but the ranges and movements were expanded to exploit additional resources in other seasons. An adult female feral cat made little use of built infrastructure, inhabiting natural habitats throughout the year and denning in winter under the snowpack. Dietary analyses based on microscopic examination of scat and gut contents showed that cats depredated small mammals, including threatened species such as the mountain pygmy-possum (Burramys parvus) and broad-toothed rat (Mastacomys fuscus). Potential cat-impacts on these and other native species may be reduced by focusing management around ski resort buildings and infrastructure, especially in winter, and educating and engaging the public to assist in management activities.

Keywords: Australian alps, Australian snow country, broad-toothed rat, Felis catus, feral cat, mountain pygmy-possum, snowpack, subnivean space.

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