North West Island: 100 Feral Chickens Outwit Cats, Thrive Without Water

North West Island’s feral chickens, abandoned since the 1880s, invented a water-harvesting technique from bird’s beak grass, survived on figs, insects, and turtle carrion—no cereal, no water bowls. “The birds developed a technique to harvest water off the leaves,” reveals John Urane. Trending searches include 'how long can chickens live without water?' and 'survival adaptations of feral chickens.'
While these waterless, cereal-free chickens dodged 100 feral cats, only muttonbird migrations offered them seasonal safety—cats preferred easier prey. Annual chicken numbers spiked to 1,500 before feline culling returned the flock to 500. Top trending questions: 'Can feral chickens survive predators?' and 'How do chickens adapt to extreme environments?' As Urane notes, only the smartest survived to pass on their genes, turning the island into a Darwinian poultry boot camp.
During the guano boom, Japanese miners left chickens that, for a century, drank only dew, dined on cockroaches and turtles, and dodged extinction by hiding from cats until muttonbird season flipped the food chain.