Chapter 1: The Sanctuary's Establishment

Recent research reveals that a single free-ranging cat has wreaked havoc on a sanctuary for endangered seabirds located in southwestern Australia. This alarming situation was documented by GrrlScientist for Forbes.

The Australian fairy tern (Sternula nereis nereis) is a coastal seabird classified as threatened, known for nesting in open beach environments. Their nests are merely shallow depressions in the sand, where they lay one or two eggs.

In the breeding season of 2016–2017, a group of fairy terns decided to nest on a site cleared for development near Mandurah City, Western Australia. This prompted a halt to construction activities. Subsequently, the area was developed, yet, in response to the shortage of appropriate nesting sites, local residents joined forces with the city council and various organizations to secure funding for the Mandurah Fairy Tern Sanctuary on the estuary. They successfully persuaded the terns to establish their breeding ground at this site for the 2017–2018 season.

Would the terns return to continue their lineage the following year?

Chapter 2: The Thriving Colony

“The return of the Fairy Terns to Mandurah sparked considerable enthusiasm within the community,” stated marine ecologist and ornithologist Claire Greenwell, a doctoral candidate at Murdoch University, who played a pivotal role in forming the tern colony. “I never anticipated that Fairy Terns would become such a popular topic—residents began to refer to them as ‘our birds’,” Ms. Greenwell added.

By late November 2018, the colony had reached a peak with 111 active nests. This period coincided with their breeding season, which runs from October to December in the Southern Hemisphere. Despite minor issues stemming from free-ranging animals, including cats, dogs, and humans, as well as beach erosion, things seemed to be progressing well for the fairy terns until an unsettling incident occurred in the early hours of November 18. Neighbors reported hearing chaos within the colony and subsequently chased a white cat away from the sanctuary.

Not long after, the first chick to hatch vanished mysteriously, just eight days old. Its devastated parents remained at the empty nest, unwilling to leave.

Section 2.1: Disturbances in the Colony

“I had spent considerable time monitoring the birds and was very aware of the chicks that were thriving,” Ms. Greenwell mentioned in an email. “My first indication that something was amiss came when I observed healthy chicks in the afternoon, only to find them dead by the next morning.”

Ms. Greenwell suspected that some terrestrial predator was disturbing the tern colony at night. Consequently, she and five volunteers organized an overnight surveillance on December 1. Observations from vigilant neighbors and footage from wildlife cameras revealed that a white cat frequently visited the colony.

Section 2.2: The Evidence Unfolds

Could one cat truly be responsible for such devastation? Evidence against the white cat mounted rapidly. “We discovered the carcasses of adult terns, some decapitated or with their chests torn open,” Ms. Greenwell elaborated. “Upon investigation, cat tracks and feces were found nearby.”

This shocking discovery ignited outrage within the local community and significant stress for the fairy tern colony. “We found six adult terns dismembered near the sanctuary, and around 40 chicks were either dead, missing, or injure