 WILDCAT
Felis silvestris grampia
At first glance, Scottishwildcats
may look similar to a pet cat, but on closer observation
there are differences. The wide, flat head, ears pointing
more sideways, a bushy blunt-ended tail encircled with
dark rings, and a distinctly striped coat all distinguish
the true wildcat from feral cats. Research has also
revealed differences in their genetic make-up, blood
type and skull features.
Highland
Tiger
Scottish wildcats are now one of Britain's rarest mammals
and could be in serious danger of extinction. Aptly
named as the "Highland
Tiger" in an important new project set up to
assess and monitor their status in the Cairngorms, it
is thought that there may be as few as 400 left - making
them rarer than the Amur tiger! For more information
on this vital project, and the important work being
carried out by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland,
go to Cairngorm
Wildcat Project.
The latin name for the wildcat,
Felis silvestris means 'woodland cat'. Since forests
first covered the land, the wildcat has lived in Britain,
however human persecution and habitat destruction led
to its extinction in England, Wales and southern Scotland
by 1880. The remote Highlands provided a last refuge
for this endangered cat. The
Scottish Wildcat has been identified in Scotland's Species
Action Framework (SAF) as "a species requiring
targeted management action to improve prospects for
its future survival as a distinct native species."
For more information of the Species Action Framework,
visit:
http://www.snh.org.uk/speciesactionframework
Unlike the domestic cat,
the wildcat is a seasonal breeder.The ancestors of our
domestic pet cat may have been the African Wildcat or
the Indian Desert cat. After centuries of evolution
and human selection, the domestic cat today is considered
a separate species, Felis catus. In Britain, the pet
cat arrived with the Romans. Today, there are many domestic
cats 'gone wild'. These feral cats can interbreed with
the Scottish wildcat, and produce fertile hybrid cats.
Such cross breeding may also contribute to putting the
future survival of the Scottish wildcat at risk.
The Scottish wildcat is now
fully protected by law and is recognised as a separate
subspecies, Felis silvestris grampia, confined
to the Central and Northern Highlands of mainland Scotland.
Their preferred habitat is upland forest with young
trees, moorland, scrub and hill ground where they can
lie up during the day in a den among rocky cairns, old
fox earths, badger setts, or among tree roots. The wildcat
is a useful predator of pests such as rabbits and rodents
and will also eat birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects
and may scavenge fresh road casualties.
Solitary and territorial, the wildcat
is active at night particularly around dawn and dusk. Territory
is marked out by urine and droppings, and by scratches on
tree trunks. The male's home
range may overlap that of the female and young males may be
nomadic. Mating occurs during February and 2-6 kittens are
born approximately 68 days later. The family breaks up after
about 5 months, when the young leave to establish their own
home range.
Our cats in the Park can often
be found on a tree branch, in the aerial walkway or
in one of the stone cairns in our Forest Habitat. They
are fed mainly on rabbit. The rabbits’ furry skin
is left on to provide roughage and interest, with extra
'carnivore' vitamins added for health. As meat eaters,
wildcats spend long hours sleeping and digesting their
food during the day.
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