Predatory Prey Relationships
Predators play a critical roll in the wellbeing of our global environment. In fact life on earth would
cease to exist without them.

The interrelationship between birds of prey, rodents and humans health is just beginning to be understood
by the scientific community. Habitat destruction and or habitat fragmentation has resulted in many regions
being composed of small, isolated remnants of natural habitats. Species that require large areas usually
cannot survive for long in these areas without wildlife management. The increased production of homes and
manufacturing on long island has resulted in the destruction of suitable habitat for birds of prey, bats
and other forms of wildlife.

Owls and Hawks feed on mice. Some mice carry the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, which is responsible for
lyme disease. Deer ticks, which feeds off an infected mouse, can than transmit the disease to both humans
and animals. The less hawks, owls and snakes, the more diseased mice, and the cycle continues.

Bats are highly beneficial mammals, which can consume large numbers of night flying insects such as mosquitoes,
moths and other insect pest. One little brown bat can catch up to 3,000 mosquitoes in just one night’s feeding.
A big brown bat can eat up 6,000 mosquitoes in one night’s feeding. Both little and big brown bats are the most
common bats in and around the New York City area. These mammals are a natural form of mosquito control; in fact
their presences help to minimize the use of dangerous pesticides.

Worldwide, bats are a major contributor to controlling the night flying insect pest such a mosquitoes, moths and
other insects. Without them this world would be a very buggy place.