This bird used to be abundant, but now only 50–100 adult birds are thought to survive. Goats introduced to provide food for fishermen and to start a meat canning plant in the early to mid-19th century became feral and overran the island by the late 19th century, with more than four goats per hectare (nearly two per acre) being present around the 1870s. Feral cats also multiplied, and as the habitat was destroyed by the goats, the cats wreaked havoc on the endemic fauna. In 1897, Kaeding found the Guadalupe junco "abundant", but already decreasing due to cat predation. Anthony summed up 10 years of occasional visits in 1901 by noting that "...the juncos are slowly but surely becoming scarce." He blamed the interaction of goats destroying the habitat and cats destroying the birds themselves.