europewilds:

Haven to save the wildcat from total extinction

A 250-square-mile haven has been established to save the Scottish wildcat from threatened extinction.

The west coast sanctuary is being cleared of feral domestic cats that pose a threat by interbreeding with their endangered cousins. Wildcats are threatened by hybridising with domestic cats, with one study suggesting there could just 35 left in the wild.

The Wildcat Haven, funded by American animal welfare organisations, occupies the Ardnamurchan and Sunart peninsula on the west coast, and has been the site of assiduous work over the last five years to trap, neuter and release feral cats and ensure pet cats are neutered.

The team behind it hope that wildcats may now be able to thrive in the area secure from the further threat of hybridisation.

The project scientific adviser, Dr Paul O’Donoghue, of the University of Chester, said: “Cats of any kind are notoriously difficult to survey. However over the last six months we’ve really saturated the area with live traps, cameras, vets and ecologists, and had lots of people from the local community out looking as well.

“The only feral cats seen have already been neutered, which means the population should collapse naturally within the next couple of years.”

This is thought to be the first time feral cats have been managed in such a large mainland area anywhere in the world.

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