Cat problems

Depending on how we look at it, wild cats in Madeira can be either a blessing or a curse. One thing is certain, tho: after a family of these feline fellas decided to call the Pico Ruívo hut and its surroundings their home the local rat community packed their bags, abandoned the neighbourhood and emigrated to other destinations.

Although the wild cats population in Madeira is larger than it should be (eventually endangering the existence of some local species, namely the Zino's Petrel), there's no question for us humans that we still prefer to share our ecosystem with these guys rather than with the others.

A wild cat cub in Pico Ruívo area, this afternoon. These are basically domestic cats (Felis catus) that left the human environment and are living with total autonomy, either in the wild or also in urban areas.

These animals are normally shy to humans, keeping a safe distance from people and avoiding close contact. Their behaviour is not aggressive (except, obviously, if cornered). And the only time that you have their full attention is when you have food in your hands. They are also called "Feral cats" and hunting has no secrets for them.

Picture taken with Nikon D300 and cheap Nikkor 55-200 f/4-5.6 AF-S kit lens. Post-processing in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, ver. 4.1.