Scottish Wildcat
The Wildcat is the UK’s only native cat. It looks very similar to a domestic tabby cat but it is larger with a stockier build and a thick bushy tail which has 3 to 5 broad black bands of fur and a rounded and blunt black tip. The colour of the coat varies from greyish to yellowish-brown.
The Wildcat is confined to Scotland north of Glasgow and Edinburgh but it is absent from the Scottish Islands. It prefers areas with varied habitats on the edge of moorland with pasture, scrub and forests. High mountains where prey is scarce and intensively farmed lowland regions are avoided. In winter, bad weather drives the Wildcat from mountains and moorlands into more sheltered wooded valleys.
The Wildcat is a shy and wary animal which is active at night, mainly around dawn and dusk. The diet consists of Rabbits, Hares and small mammals but quite large birds and animals freshly killed on roads may also be taken. It sometimes stores or caches uneaten prey by hiding it under vegetation. During the day, and in periods of heavy rain and snow, the Wildcat lies up in dens located amongst boulders and rocky cairns or in old Fox earths, Badgers setts, peat hags or tree roots.
The Wildcat is also a solitary and territorial animal living at a low population density. There may be one cat to three square kilometres in good habitats but only one cat to 10 square kilometres in less favourable areas. Urine sprayed on boulders and tree trunks and droppings deposited in prominent places, are used by the Wildcat to mark its territory.
Although the Wildcat may live for 10 to 12 years in the wild, most seem to die at an early age.
The Wildcat used to be found throughout mainland UK but due to persecution and clearance of wooded land it declined over several centuries. It disappeared from southern England in the 16th century and the last one recorded from northern England was shot in 1849.
The Wildcat almost became extinct in the UK in the early years of last century but, following reduced persecution at the time of the First World War and helped by more forestry plantations, it recolonised parts of Scotland. However, this recovery now seems to have slowed down. The urbanised habitat of the central lowlands of Scotland seems to be a barrier to further dispersal. A recent survey failed to find any evidence of Wildcats south of the industrial belt of Scotland.
Although increasing afforestation helped the spread of the Wildcat, as forest plantations mature they become less suitable for the small mammals on which the Wildcat preys. Forestry management to encourage Wildcats should therefore aim to diversify the age of plantations.
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and 1988 now gives strict legal protection to Wildcats and their dens and it is an offence to take or kill one except under licence. Despite this protection, illegal trapping and shooting are still major causes of death of Wildcats whilst others die in road traffic accidents and there is still a risk from illegal poisoning.
Inter-breeding with domestic cats gone wild (known as feral cats) could pose an insidious threat to the Wildcat’s survival in the UK by changing the species' genetic identity. The Wildcat is also at risk from diseases of domestic cats such as feline leukaemia.
Date: 16th September 2011
Location: British Wildlife Centre, Surrey
The Wildcat is confined to Scotland north of Glasgow and Edinburgh but it is absent from the Scottish Islands. It prefers areas with varied habitats on the edge of moorland with pasture, scrub and forests. High mountains where prey is scarce and intensively farmed lowland regions are avoided. In winter, bad weather drives the Wildcat from mountains and moorlands into more sheltered wooded valleys.
The Wildcat is a shy and wary animal which is active at night, mainly around dawn and dusk. The diet consists of Rabbits, Hares and small mammals but quite large birds and animals freshly killed on roads may also be taken. It sometimes stores or caches uneaten prey by hiding it under vegetation. During the day, and in periods of heavy rain and snow, the Wildcat lies up in dens located amongst boulders and rocky cairns or in old Fox earths, Badgers setts, peat hags or tree roots.
The Wildcat is also a solitary and territorial animal living at a low population density. There may be one cat to three square kilometres in good habitats but only one cat to 10 square kilometres in less favourable areas. Urine sprayed on boulders and tree trunks and droppings deposited in prominent places, are used by the Wildcat to mark its territory.
Although the Wildcat may live for 10 to 12 years in the wild, most seem to die at an early age.
The Wildcat used to be found throughout mainland UK but due to persecution and clearance of wooded land it declined over several centuries. It disappeared from southern England in the 16th century and the last one recorded from northern England was shot in 1849.
The Wildcat almost became extinct in the UK in the early years of last century but, following reduced persecution at the time of the First World War and helped by more forestry plantations, it recolonised parts of Scotland. However, this recovery now seems to have slowed down. The urbanised habitat of the central lowlands of Scotland seems to be a barrier to further dispersal. A recent survey failed to find any evidence of Wildcats south of the industrial belt of Scotland.
Although increasing afforestation helped the spread of the Wildcat, as forest plantations mature they become less suitable for the small mammals on which the Wildcat preys. Forestry management to encourage Wildcats should therefore aim to diversify the age of plantations.
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and 1988 now gives strict legal protection to Wildcats and their dens and it is an offence to take or kill one except under licence. Despite this protection, illegal trapping and shooting are still major causes of death of Wildcats whilst others die in road traffic accidents and there is still a risk from illegal poisoning.
Inter-breeding with domestic cats gone wild (known as feral cats) could pose an insidious threat to the Wildcat’s survival in the UK by changing the species' genetic identity. The Wildcat is also at risk from diseases of domestic cats such as feline leukaemia.
Date: 16th September 2011
Location: British Wildlife Centre, Surrey
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