The visible portion of the 13-foot-tall (4-meter-tall) Christmas tree isn't ancient, but its root system has been growing for 9,550 years, according to a team led by Leif Kullman, professor at UmeÃ¥ University's department of ecology and environmental science in Sweden. Enlarge Photo.
Here are the facts: 1  More than 100 million animals are reported killed by hunters each year.  The vast majority of species that are hunted -- waterfowl, upland birds, mourning doves, squirrels, raccoons, rabbits, crows, coyotes, etc. -- provide minimal sustenance and do not require population control.
Researchers estimate that billions of birds and small mammals are killed by cats in the U.S. annually. The battle between cat lovers and bird lovers has been going on for a long time. Cats and birds just don't mix. But trying to get a handle on how many birds and other animals are being killed by cats isn't easy. Just figuring out how many cats there are is tough enough. Cats are really hard to count, says Pete Marra, an animal ecologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.