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Feral cats and rats have been trapped near little penguin colonies (Andy Wallace: ABC News)
Authorities say 25 feral cats have been trapped near little penguin colonies on Kangaroo Island.
Trapping was done over two three-week periods.The Kangaroo Island Natural Resources Centre says more trapping will be done next month, after penguin chicks have hatched.
Feral cat project officer Helen Achurch said rats were also trapped.
"There's been a couple of studies done that suggest rats have had an impact on little penguin chicks," she said.
"With that number of rats there, that number of cats there ... all these sort of factors are contributing to impacts to the birds in their nesting areas.
"We know that feral cats have significant impact on lots of native fauna around Kangaroo Island. From gut samples we've seen that they take lots of small birds, reptiles and also penguin feathers have been found so we know that they're likely to take some penguins, but we don't have a lot of information on how much impact they're having."
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