There are an estimated 1 billion domesticated dogs in the world. So it’s no surprise that humans hold them in such high regard. But our beloved dogs are the most common large predator in the world and “have a far greater, more insidious and more concerning effect on wildlife and the environment than we would like to be the case.” Read more from @ScienceAlert:
#Predators and #prey: size matters. “A chickadee is almost too small to have any [enemies]. That whimsical fellow called #Evolution, having enlarged the dinosaur until he tripped over his own toes, tried shrinking the chickadee until he was just too big to be snapped up by flycatchers as an insect, and just too little to be pursued by hawks and owls as meat. Then he regarded his handiwork and laughed. Everyone laughs at so small a bundle of large enthusiasms."