New project to protect wildcats

[Fixx]

A new project is being launched with the aim of giving the endangered Scottish wildcat greater protection.
The Cairngorms Wildcat Project, which will be launched by Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham, has the backing of various agencies.
About 400 pure breds are thought to be left, with their survival threatened by cross-breeding with domestic cats.
The project involves raising awareness, neutering feral domestic cats and "wildcat-friendly" predator control.
The Cairngorms National Park is seen as a stronghold for the species.



The park authority, Forestry Commission Scotland, the Highland Wildlife Park's owners the Royal Zoological Society Scotland, Scottish Gamekeepers Association and Scottish Natural Heritage are involved in the new project.
It was being launched at the Highland Wildlife Park near Kincraig, which has captive wildcats.
Scottish wildcats can be very difficult to tell apart from domestic and feral cats.
Larger than pet cats, they have grey-brown striped fur and a short bushy tail.
They are shy and mostly nocturnal and prey on small mammals. A female can have up to eight kittens in her den.
Wildcats were once widespread throughout the UK, but by the 19th Century were thought to be extinct.
Separately, the Scottish Wildcat Association (SWA) led by Steve Piper has achieved charitable status
Mr Piper described previous government agency attempts to survey and protect the wildcat as "half-hearted".
He said the animal was a unique predator that had been resident in Britain for at least two million years, sharing space with everything from woolly mammoths to cave lions and surviving entire ice ages.
But he said more recently it had "fallen foul" of persecution, urban development and, increasingly, hybridisation with domestic feral cats.
The film-maker appealed to farmers and owners of shooting estates to help protect the species.






BBC

[trigger]

Thats really great to hear and about time. I house European wild cats and they are beautiful, but not as big as the Scottish. Thanks for posting this.

[bassy 1019]

would love to see some pics of any wild cats. seen them on wildlife programmes, some experts say there is a lot of interbreeding with wild feral cats. as im no expert on this subject, i will leave all and well alone.

[trigger]

I have 5 european, they came from a closed zoo. Bit of a nightmare to begin with as they were surposed to be all girls, one was a boy and within 2 weeks of them ariving we had 3 litters so was a bit chaotic. The group are not proved purebloods so unsuitable for a breeding project. We house Mom and her adult offspring, Niagra the boy has been snipped. Picks of Andorra having a wash and Paris and Vienna playing with a bit of enrichment.

[bassy 1019]

hi very nice place you have there for them, but they look like normal cats to me, lol. as i have said i dont no the difference between cats, wild of feral. are these dangerous? can you go in to the enclosure? can you stroke them?

[trigger]

he he he , you have no idea how many times I hear 'they look just like my moggy at home'. The are only very slightly larger than a domestic cat. They are simalar in apperance to a tabby but the markings on the back and tail are apparenty the give away. I do go in with them, they are slightly less aggressive than when they arived but i cannot touch them. They have vile tempers and when you see them deal with a whole goose for their tea you relise they are not something to argue with. There enclousre is ok, I would like it bigger as they are quite active but they have larger than they came from and its in the plans. They need a lot of enrichment to keep their brains ticking.

[bassy 1019]

i did see the banded tail, like the scottish wildcats, they have a banded tail right? very nice any way. is it mosty carrion that you give? roadkill? gamekeeper kills? or shoot yourself? maybe you need to go wild rabbit shooting, keep the bills down.

[trigger]

I would but my aim is crap! They get a mixture of rabbit, rat, mouse, chicks which is their fav, squirrel, goose, quail, turkey necks, fish and phesant. Comes form a frozen supplier and a game keeper.And your right about the tails.

[swede.speed]

Hi,

i dont want to sound like one of those "they look just like my moggy at home" people, BUT i bought a kitten, Millie, around 4 years ago from Aldridge and was always puzzled by how big her ears were and how thick her coat was with her strange `meerkat` style tail and bad temper.

Then i saw a programme on the Scottish wildcat (BBC2 i think) and couldn`t believe my eyes, as the cat on the tv looked the same as millie.

Then my daughter went on a school trip to either West Midland safari park or Drayton Manor (cant remember which one, shes been on loads) and came home saying how she had seen Scottish wildcats there and how much they looked like millie.

Now on the BBC2 programme they mentioned that the "M" marking on the forehead and the thick long whiskers and triple layer thick fur where trademarks of the wildcat along with the "meerkat" tail, all of which millie has(along with a bad temper).

She is as big as my ginger tomcat and by far the biggest female cat we have ever owned, is very strong and can be aggresive (did i mention her bad temper lol), takes no messing from anyone or anything and growls like a dog when shes upset, so can you tell me from these pictures if shes wildcat material or not?











Cheers,
Dave

[Shell195]

Very pretty Tabby cat but I dont think she a Scottish wildcat
Heres a link so you can compare her
Scottish Wildcat Association, wild cat species description, behaviour and habitat factfile