Population boost for world’s rarest cat
The world’s rarest cat has received an unexpected population boost after two orphaned kittens were discovered in Scotland. Just 35 Scottish wildcats were thought to remain in the wild. The kittens will be raised in captivity until strong enough to be released back into the wild.
THE world’s rarest cat has received an unexpected population boost after two orphaned kittens were discovered in Scotland.
Just 35 Scottish wildcats were thought to remain in the wild in Britain, and the sub-species is in danger of dying out because the animals often breed with feral domesticated cats, creating hybrids.
But the conservation group Wildcat Haven has rescued two weak and dehydrated kittens which were spotted and photographed by a member of the public in the east Highlands.
It is likely the pair would not have survived on their own and were edging closer to a road where they could have been hit by traffic. The discovery has boosted the population of Scottish wildcats by six per cent, to 37 animals.
“I almost fell off my chair when I saw the photos,” said Dr Paul O’donoghue, Wildcat Haven’s chief scientific adviser.
“The markings looked amazing, far better than any kitten I’d seen in a zoo, but in a very exposed place. It seemed likely they had been abandoned or orphaned and were in grave danger.
“I am overjoyed that we’ve been able to give these two orphaned wildcat kittens a lifeline.”
The Scottish wildcat is a sub-species of the European wildcat and although it is only now native to Scotland, it was once widespread throughout England and Wales.
It is the only wild feline left in Britain and almost became extinct in the 19th century after being trapped and shot by groundsmen to protect game birds.
It was given protected status under the Wildlife and Countryside Act in 1981.
Because the wildcats are protected, the team had to apply to Scottish Natural Heritage to rescue and rehabilitate the kittens.
They plan to release them back into the wild when they are older and stronger, the first time anyone has attempted that with a Scottish wildcat in decades.
Steve Piper, a wildlife filmmaker who travelled to the area to make sure the mother was not nearby, said: “We went straight out to set remote cameras and bait to make absolutely sure there wasn’t a mother around looking for them [but] there was nothing on the cameras, no tracks, no eyeshine or calling in the night.
“Perhaps she was run over, perhaps snared. Sadly there are a lot of threats out there for wildcats; these two orphans were incredibly lucky to be found in time.
“By next morning, after some food and water, the timid kittens had transformed entirely and we had two spitting balls of fury in their place. They were mini wildcats: stamping, hissing and growling, displaying all the explosive aggression typical of the species, reputed to be untameable.”
The kittens have been taken to a specially designed wildcat rescue facility in the West Highlands established by a conservation group, Highland Titles, where they are being monitored by Wildcat Haven’s vet Nick Morphet.
Dr Peter Bevis, Highland Titles’ founder and conservationist, said: “I’d heard about injured wildcats getting handed in to vets and ending up in a
‘There are a lot of threats out there for wildcats; these two were lucky to be found in time’
zoo, which just seemed wrong to me. I thought we could fence off some of our forest and that would be a good place for an injured wildcat to recover.
“I never expected that we’d have two orphaned wildcat kittens coming to stay though.”
Dr O’donoghue added: “Once these kittens are old enough they will be released at the first opportunity.
“The purest wildcats are in the wild, they can be protected there and it’s where they belong, not in a cage.”