Scottish wildcat on verge of extinction, report finds

European cats to be released into Highlands in ‘last-ditch effort’ to help save species

Severin Carrell Scotland editor

Wed 27 Feb 2019 11.01 GMTLast modified on Wed 27 Feb 2019 18.00 GMT

Conservationists are planning to release captive European wildcats into the Highlands in a final attempt to save the Scottish wildcat from extinction.

The new measures, described by ecologists as a last-ditch effort to save the species, follow an expert report that confirmed the Scottish wildcat was on the verge of becoming genetically extinct, with as few as 30 left in isolated pockets of the Highlands.

“Based on the available information, we consider the wildcat population in Scotland to be no longer viable,” the report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), released on Wednesday, stated.

“The number of wildcats is too small, the hybridisation too far advanced and the population too fragmented. We therefore conclude that it is too late to conserve the wildcat in Scotland as a standalone population.”

Conservation sources said the Scottish government had supported work on a captive breeding and release programme from a new wildcat conservation centre being built at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s (RZSS) wildlife park near Kingussie in the Cairngorms.

Read on

Immediate actions planned to conserve Scottish wildcat

Recent research showed that Scottish wildcat faces extinction within months

September 2012. A range of national actions to save the Scottish wildcat look set to be agreed over the next six months. The move follows the first-ever meeting of a diverse group of land management, research and conservation organisations (see below).

Hybridisation
The main threat to wildcats is hybridisation with feral domestic cats which raises many challenges in correctly identifying wildcats from often fleeting sightings. The first action agreed by the group was an immediate targeted survey to identify the best surviving populations of wildcats. Survey work will be coordinated with the intention of identifying key regions to focus research and conservation actions within.

Translocation
Other possibilities discussed included innovative approaches such as captive breeding and translocation of cats in the wild. However, the current emphasis is to obtain more up to date information on wildcat numbers and distribution which in turn will be used to prioritise action on the ground.

The group aims to have a comprehensive action plan underway by next spring forming a Scotland-wide approach to wildcat conservation overseen by SNH.

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/wildcat-conservation.html#cr

Scottish wildcat faces extinction within months

Days before Scottish Natural Heritage begin formulating their action plan for the Scottish wildcat, conservationists warn that numbers may have slumped to 35 individuals and that significant policy change is essential.

September 2012. Critical analysis of efforts to identify Scottish wildcat populations over the last five years has concluded that the population numbers just 35 individuals.

2000 records assessed
A team put together by the Scottish Wildcat Association has appraised over 2000 records including camera trap sightings, eye witness reports and roadkills collected independently by organisations such as the SWA, Cairngorms Wildcat Project and Oxford University.

Threatened by hybridisation
Wildcats are threatened primarily with hybridisation; cross-mating with feral domestic cats. The "hybrid" offspring in turn mate with more wildcats, ferals and hybrids creating a confusing spectrum of cats that look similar to wildcats, but behave very differently putting pressure on prey species and raising conflicts with rural businesses.

1% of cats are true wildcats
Of the 2000 records of hybrids and wildcats less than 20 comply with the accepted coat-marking identifiers of the true wildcat, with an estimated 3500 hybrids in Scotland this would mean there were just 35 wildcats remaining.

"However you juggle the figures it's hard to find anything positive," comments SWA chairman Steve Piper, "if you ignore the eye witness sightings because they're unreliable the numbers get even worse, if you hypothesise that wildcats avoid roads they only pick up a little, even if you decide the population of hybrids is larger you have to multiply it to impossible levels to get to the commonly quoted figure of 400 wildcats. The overwhelming evidence is that the wildcat is going to be extinct within months, anything else is blind hope."

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/wild-cat-scotland.html

Dolly scientist working on cloning Scottish wildcats

A scientist who was involved in cloning Dolly the sheep 15 years ago has started work on a new technique to clone rare Scottish wildcats.

Embryologist Dr Bill Ritchie said the project could help protect the species which is thought to number about 400 cats in the wild.

Midlothian-based Moredun Research Institute is involved.

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has previously suggested cloning wildcats.

Dolly the Sheep was the first cloned mammal ever to be made from an adult cell and was the result of work at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh.

Dr Ritchie's research has received some funding from Genecom, the commercial arm of the Moredun Research Institute and the Institute for Animal Health.

The scientist said: "Several cat species have been cloned using the domestic cat, as well as the wolf using dog eggs.

"It is very difficult to find pure wildcats due to their crossing with domestic animals, but modern scientific techniques are able to select animals which are pure bred.

"Cells collected from these animals by taking a small piece of skin would be cultured to supply cells for the cloning process."

'Pure wildcat kittens'
Dr Ritchie said eggs from domestic cats, which would be available from tissue recovered during spaying of the animal, could be used as the starting material for the cloning process.

A project in the Cairngorms where cats are spayed to prevent inter-breeding with wildcats could provide a "convenient source of eggs", Dr Ritchie said.

In August last year, bosses at the RZSS's Highland Wildlife Park confirmed a plan to clone wildcats was in the early stages of being discussed.

Talks had been held with the Medical Research Council's Human Reproductive Sciences Unit in Edinburgh.

The park said a house cat-wildcat hybrid could be used to give birth to "pure wildcat kittens".

It has been estimated that 150 breeding pairs of wildcats survive in parts of the Highlands.

Disease, loss of habitat and inter-breeding with domestic cats have been blamed for devastating wild populations.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-14663911

Scottish wildcat and cub captured in photo and on film

A Scottish wildcat and her cub - among the rarest animals on earth - have been caught on camera.

The animals were just yards from the home of a crofter near Cornhill, a village near Banff in Aberdeenshire. He and his wife are keeping their identities and location secret because the wildcat is a protected species.

The crofter said: "We have had astonishing sightings in recent days, even seeing them playing at one point.

"We are in no doubt that they are wildcats. The kitten is about the size of an adult domestic cat, and you would not want the mother sitting on your lap.


"I think if you were confronted by it, you would turn around and walk the other way.

"To see a mother and kitten together is extremely rare. We believe there may be other kittens nearby, and she has been teaching this young one to hunt.

"We have watched the mother hunting and killing big rabbits and taking them into a nearby overgrown area, and we have also seen what we think is the father on his own.

"We have sighted large cats at this time of year from our house for the past four years. Initially we thought we were seeing a wild big cat, but these are most definitely wildcats. There is even a possibility that a big cat and a wildcat could have bred."

The mother and kitten were photographed about 100 yards from the Cornhill couple's house, and they also managed to get video footage.

"I have borrowed a hide so that I can get closer, in the hope that I can take even sharper pictures," added the crofter.

"Photographs of them are very rare."

The Scottish wildcat is the UK's last large mammal predator. Although it my look similar to a domestic cat, there are a number of key differences that make the Scottish wildcat stand out.

They are about 50% larger than a regular domestic cat, have thick striped coats and wider jaws and a thick ringed tail.

They are extremely powerful and fast, capable of reaching 30mph, but there are so few of them left that they are regarded as one of the UK's most endangered species.

The Cairngorm Wildcat Project has been set up to safeguard the surviving wildcat population. It is headed up by Dr David Hetherington, who has been sent pictures of the animals photographed near Cornhill.

He said: "It is difficult to say from the angle and clarity of the pictures whether they are definitely wildcats. I would need to see their coat markings in more detail.

"We are getting reports of wildcats in agricultural landscapes in Aberdeenshire, indicating that they are moving into areas where they are not normally found.

"It would be very exciting if these Cornhill animals were wildcats, but they may also be hybrids between wildcats and domestic or feral cats.

"Hybrids are a real threat to the future of the pure Scottish wildcat, apart from their limited numbers, and that is why we are keen that people living in rural areas get their farm and domestic cats neutered, to prevent any cross-breeding."

It is thought that there could be fewer than 400 wildcats remaining in the Highlands, making them rarer than Bengal tigers. Experts fear they are on the brink of extinction.

If the Cornhill sighting is verified, it would back up reports that the cats are extending out to agricultural areas of Aberdeenshire from their more common habitat around the Cairngorms.

See video:
http://news.stv.tv/scotland/north/263249-scottish-wildcat-and-cub-captured-in-photo/

Elusive Scottish wildcats filmed (via Chad Arment)

Two Scottish wildcat kittens have been filmed by a BBC crew.

The notoriously shy animals were filmed at night in the highlands of Scotland.

One of the kittens had an unusual black coat, suggesting that it could have been an incredibly rare dark or "melanistic" genetic form.

The crew, including wildlife presenter Liz Bonnin, had set out to catch a glimpse of the scarce Scottish wildcat. Their footage will be broadcast on the BBC series Autumnwatch.

They spent two chilly hours "lamping", shining a lamp to catch the reflection in animals' eyes, without success.

But as it approached midnight Frank Law, sporting manager for the Seafield and Strathspey Estates where the search took place, recognised the distinctive "eyeshine" of a cat.

The crew identified a black cat that did not move away as they approached, suggesting it was inexperienced and young.

"The kitten, because it was so young, wasn't looking fearful," said presenter and cat expert Liz Bonnin. Adult wildcats, she explained, are much more wary of humans.

The crew saw another kitten nearby, which had the distinctive striped coat and blunt tail of a Scottish wildcat.

Since the two young kittens were seen together, the team assumed they were from the same family and were waiting at the den for their mother to return from hunting.

Presenter Liz was able to get within 20m of the kittens while the team captured the rare sighting on film.

"It's one thing going out lamping and seeing an adult wildcat - it's quite another to come across a den," she said.

"We got a really good chance to observe this beautiful kitten basically posing for us on a pile of rocks."

Filming Scottish wildcats is a considerable challenge because they are nocturnal and their numbers are decreasing.

Mysterious black cat
Dr David Hetherington, manager of the Cairngorms Wildcat Project, was called in to confirm the kittens' identification.

The expert agreed that the "tabby-like" kitten was a wildcat but the black kitten presented more of a mystery.

"There is a remote possibility that it is a melanistic pure wildcat," said Dr Hetherington.

Melanistic wildcats are incredibly rare and cannot be identified without genetic testing.

An alternative, and probably more likely explanation for the black kitten found by the BBC crew is that it may be a hybrid of a Scottish wildcat and domestic cat.

Wildcats are known to mate with domesticated felines. In this instance the kitten's black coat could be inherited from a black domestic cat.

This interbreeding or hybridisation threatens the future existence of pure Scottish wildcats, Felis silvestris grampia.

Their population is estimated at fewer than 400 animals in the wild, making them critically endangered.

Habitat loss, transferral of diseases from domestic cats and traffic collisions also contribute to their rarity.

"They're dealing with a lot of cards against them," said Liz Bonnin.

"Very few people are even aware of the Scottish wildcat. It's hugely important that we conserve them."

Detailed footage of the kittens will be broadcast on Autumnwatch on Thursday 14 October at 2000BST on BBC Two.

Ella Davies

Earth News reporter

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9085000/9085644.stm

Black Scottish wildcat kitten (via Chad Arment)

A black kitten has been spotted among a litter of Scottish wildcats filmed for BBC Autumnwatch.

The animals were caught on camera in the Cairngorms, one of the last strongholds for the rare species.

Autumnwatch producer Richard Taylor-Jones said it was possible the kitten was the result of breeding with a feral cat.

But he also suggested the kitten was melanistic, meaning it has increased amounts of darker colour.

It has been estimated that 150 breeding pairs of wildcats survive in parts of the Highlands.

Disease, loss of habitat and inter-breeding with domestic cats have been blamed for devastating wild populations.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-11540846