Feral cats, which are effective predators of ground-inhabiting birds, were established on Mauritius around the late 1680s (to control rats), and this has been cause for rapid disappearance of rails elsewhere, for example on Aldabra Atoll. Being inquisitive and fearless, Hume suggested the red rail would have been easy prey for cats, and was thereby driven to extinction.
Feral cats, which are effective predators of ground-dwelling birds, were introduced to Mauritius around the late 1680s (to control rats), and this has led to rapid disappearance of rails elsewhere, such as on Aldabra Atoll.  Hume suggested that the red rail would have been an easy target for cats, and thus driven to extinction.