First wildcats in England for 170 years
CLINGING on in the remote forests of Scotland, there are only a few dozen wildcats left in Britain.
But now the animals could be about to return to england for the first time in 170 years.
Schemes to create more woodland in the north of the country could create new habitat for the cats – Britain’s last wild feline.
Conservation group Wildcat Haven has worked to safeguard Scottish wildcats in their last stronghold in the Highlands.
They will introduce cats – taken from populations in continental europe – further south in Galloway and encourage them to wander over the border into Northumbria and Cumbria. They could eventually spread as far south as Leeds and york.
Dr Paul O’Donoghue of Wildcat Haven said: ‘Wildcats fit in perfectly, helping to control species like rabbit and actively avoiding humans.’ The group is looking for release sites in Galloway Forest, in the south-west corner of Scotland, which offers a mixture of natural and commercial forestry that links up with Kielder Forest in Northumberland.
Dr O’Donoghue added: ‘ We’ve seen that wildcats can really thrive in man-made forests. The Galloway-Northumberland border is one of the most well- connected and diverse habitats in the UK.’ He said wildcats once lived across Britain but the deforestation that wiped most out had been reversed.
They are listed as ‘ critically endangered’ in Scotland and were last seen in england in 1849. ‘There’s an incredible amount of space from edinburgh and Glasgow all the way down to Leeds and york,’ added Dr O’Donoghue.
Gresham House Forestry, one of the biggest owners of woodland on both sides of the border, backs the plan. Jason Sinden, director of forestry, said of the wildcat: ‘They’re incredible survivors and I have no doubt they can thrive in forests such as Kielder in Northumberland, ennerdale in Cumbria, and Galloway.’