Save The Scottish Wildcat
Polly Pullar takes a peek inside the world of this elusive native animal, and asks what can be done to support the struggling population.
AS a child growing up in remote Ardnamurchan at the end of the 1960s, it was still possible to see wildcats. We occasionally caught a glimpse in the car headlights as a cat crossed the single-track road down the UK’s most westerly mainland peninsula.
On other occasions, I witnessed a flash of a fierce green-eyed stare and heard a low moaning growl as I stumbled on a feisty felid in the henhouse, and backed out hurriedly.
Once I accidentally cornered one in the back of the hay byre where it had been hunting mice.
All of them were beautiful, with thick, luxuriant pelts. All of them made me gasp in awe.
It’s many years since I chanced upon one, and that makes me very sad.
Wildcats, even in the ideal rich habitat of the oak woods of the western seaboard, were scarce.
The Victorians had already done their bit towards the wildcats’ tragic route to extinction.
They often ended their days as taxidermy specimens staring from glass cases in the drawingrooms of grand houses.
And they were commonly made into sporrans.
I can wistfully imagine the sounds of their weird, melancholy shrieks during the short breeding season.
These catcalls broke the stillness of windless moonlit nights and sent a frisson of excitement through me.
There were places I knew up the steep burn flanks, where birch scrub and gnarled wind-blasted oaks clung to thin soils.
I found wildcat dens in fern-fringed clefts in lichen-covered rocks, and once found a den with kittens playing outside.
It was not until 1981 that the wildcat was added to the Wildlife and
Countryside Act, but the damage was done, and – despite the legal protection – persecution continued.
Add to that the massive rise of fast-growing commercial conifers planted during the 1970s onwards – too sterile a habitat for wildcats – and disaster was imminent.
Finally, as wildcat numbers fell dangerously low, the few remaining cats began to hybridise more often with domestic felines, and their precious genes quickly became diluted.
At the end of 2018, the wildcat was declared by scientists to be functionally extinct in the wild.
Wildcats only mate in February and March and their gestation period is 60 to 68 days. It can be hard to tell if the female is pregnant until kittens are imminent.
The Scottish wildcat, Felis silvestris silvestris, is the same as the wildcat found in remote parts of Europe, including the Jura Mountains of Switzerland and Bavaria.
Reintroducing new blood from these wildcats could perhaps be considered in the future, though currently there are no plans.
Today it remains unclear how many pure wildcats are still at large in the UK.
Scottish Wildcat Action (SWA) is the official wildcat conservation project delivering a national action plan to save this critically endangered member of our native fauna.
Plans are underway to create a national endangered species
recovery centre in the Cairngorms National Park, close to the Highland Wildlife Park, where they have been breeding wildcats for many years.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland will run this multi-million-pound state-of-the-art project with experienced stakeholders who are also working on breeding captive wildcats.
The new centre will have expert veterinary facilities and will use genetically tested wildcats.
Their aim is that, by working with other captive breeding projects in the
UK, a new population of wildcats can eventually return to carefully selected habitat in the more remote parts of the country.
These will be areas where the threat of meeting domestic cats will be at a minimum.
I am fortunate to be a trustee of the Aigas Trust at Aigas Field Centre near Beauly.
Founded by Sir John Lister-Kaye in 1977, it has become world-renowned for not only its excellent ranger training and school educational programmes, but also its options for nature-based holidays.
Of equal note is the magnificent habitat restoration work that is ongoing on the Aigas estate.
I have taken a close interest in their impressive wildcat-breeding venture, part of the SWA scheme, almost entirely funded by the Lister-Kaye family, as well as through generous donations. Breeding wildcats is extremely costly and is far from easy.
Building extensive pens and landscaping to provide inmates with surroundings that are as natural as possible is a vital part of ensuring the shy and secretive cats will be content enough to breed.
When blood-tested, 75% of a cat’s genes must have come from wildcat ancestry for a wildcat to be accepted into the SWA’s ambitious venture.
All the Aigas cats have wildcat blood, and in some cases score over 90%.
Ben Jones, staff naturalist of Aigas, has been overseeing the venture for the past three years.
He knows the work and dedication involved, and the problems associated with the suitable pairing of cats for breeding purposes.
“It can be nerve-racking as things can go wrong. For me, however, working on this breeding programme is a real privilege.
“Before I came to Aigas for ranger training in 2016, I wanted to work on the front line of conservation in Britain, so it’s exciting, especially when there is so much talk surrounding ecological restoration and rewilding in the UK.
“We have a nationwide effort to conserve this beautiful animal, with partners working in
England and Wales, too.
“I think it will happen, especially with so many dedicated breeding ventures working together,” Ben explains.
Aigas have eight cats in their collection and have been breeding wildcats since 2011.
“Though we don’t work independently to ensure we keep the genetic diversity, we liaise with other breeders and sometimes exchanges take place.
“Sometimes cats may not be compatible for various reasons. Wildcats breed once a year and don’t have large litters – one to four kittens is normal.
“We had two kittens in 2012, and one in 2013, but we have had a couple of blank years, too.
“Last year was very exciting because we had two female kittens.
“They have not been released and are now part of other breeding projects further south, because it’s important to build up numbers to breed more in the coming years.
“The aim is to release the first cats in the Cairngorms in 2022. I feel optimistic.”
The Lister-Kaye family, Ben Jones and the rest of the Aigas team are dedicated in their mission to save the wildcat.
They will continue to work tirelessly to maximise the chances for this magnificent mammal to return to its rightful place alongside all the other creatures that make up a thriving ecosystem.
In times when nature is in crisis, we must cling on to hope wherever we can.
You do not have to be a conservationist to help the wildcat. The easiest way to help is to make sure cat owners act responsibly.
Domestic cats breed with wildcats and can pass on diseases and viruses to which they’ve no immunity.
Ensuring your cat is neutered and fully vaccinated is important.
You can also donate to the work of breeding wildcats in captivity as part of the SWA programme.
Report any possible wildcat sightings to SWA. Camera trapping has revealed the presence of wildcats and can be a useful tool in helping map their last wild refuges.
Aigas also have a wildcat adoption scheme that helps them fund their important venture and they are grateful for donations.
For more information or to donate, visit www.aigas.co.uk/ conservation/wildcatbreeding-project or call
01463 782443.