New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Feral

A feral organism is one that has escaped from domestication and returned, partly or wholly, to its wild state. Rarely will a local environment perfectly integrate the feral organism into its established ecology. Therefore, feral animals and plants can cause disruption or extinction to some indigenous species, affecting wilderness and other fragile ecosystems.

The goat is one of the oldest domesticated creatures, yet readily goes feral and does quite well on its own.

The dromedary camel, which has been domesticated for well over 3,000 years, will also readily go feral. A substantial population of feral dromedaries, descended from pack animals that escaped in the 19th and early 20th centuries, thrives in the Australian interior today.

The cat returns readily to a feral state if it has not been socialized properly in its young life. (See Feral cats.) These cats, especially if left to proliferate, are frequently considered to be pests in both rural and urban areas, and may be blamed for devastating the bird, reptile and mammal populations, and digging up people's gardens. A local population of feral cats living in an urban area and using a common food source is sometimes called a feral cat colony. As feral cats multiply quickly, it is difficult to control their populations. Animal shelters attempt to adopt out feral cats, especially kittens, but often are overwhelmed with sheer numbers and euthanasia is used. In rural areas, excessive numbers of feral cats are often shot. More recently, the "Trap-Neuter-Return" method has been used in many locations as an alternate means of managing the feral cat population.

Sheep are close contemporaries and cohorts of goats in the history of domestication, but the domestic sheep is quite vulnerable to predation and injury, and thus rarely if ever is seen in a feral state.

Related Stories
 


Plants & Animals News

July 19, 2026

A catastrophic asteroid breakup may have triggered a huge wave of impacts across the inner solar system about 800 million years ago. The debris was launched from near a gravitational gateway controlled by Jupiter, sending fragments toward Earth, the ...
A major DNA study has rewritten the koala's evolutionary story, revealing that the species suffered a dramatic population collapse about 100,000 years ago, long before humans arrived in Australia. By calculating the koala's mutation rate for the ...
An unusual leopard gecko that naturally develops aggressive tumors may become an important new model for cancer research. Scientists found its tumors share key genetic changes with human cancers, offering a rare opportunity to study the disease as ...
A deadly fungus has wiped out amphibian populations around the globe, yet some mysteriously recover. Researchers discovered that survivors develop powerful immune defenses while they are still tadpoles, giving them a head start before the fungus can ...
A major review found that people who consumed the most chili peppers had a substantially higher risk of esophageal cancer, though the evidence was less clear for stomach and colorectal cancers. Researchers emphasize that the findings show an ...
The world's longest-running soil warming experiment has revealed an unexpected climate concern. After nearly four decades, researchers found that warming can cause microbes to break down stable soil carbon that scientists once believed was largely ...
Scientists discovered that extreme deep-sea pressure squeezes valuable nutrients out of sinking organic particles, providing an unexpected food source for ocean microbes. The finding could rewrite our understanding of both deep-ocean ecosystems and ...
Why do beaches today have seashells from clams and snails instead of brachiopods? A new study suggests the answer lies in Earth's greatest mass extinction, when warming oceans and falling oxygen levels wiped out animals that couldn't adapt. Species ...
Two striking Asian praying mantis species that have rapidly spread across Europe have now been officially classified as invasive, raising new concerns about their impact on native wildlife. Boosted by climate change and urban environments, these ...
A next-generation pesticide designed to kill crop pests may also be interfering with the reproductive health of bumblebees. Researchers discovered that low-dose exposure to sulfoxaflor changed gene activity, especially in tissues involved in ...
A new study debunks the long-standing claim that baby rattlesnakes are more dangerous than adults. Researchers found that young rattlesnakes can control their venom just like adults, while adult snakes usually inject much more venom and cause more ...
Oak trees keep absorbing carbon dioxide long after their annual growth has ended, revealing that photosynthesis and wood production are not as closely linked as scientists once believed. The finding could reshape forecasts of how much carbon forests ...

Latest Headlines

updated 12:56 pm ET