19 European Wildcats Released In Scotland In Attempt To Reestablish The Species In The Wild [View all]

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Nearly 20 young wildcats have been released into the wild in a pine forest in the Scottish Highlands, in the first phase of a project to rescue the species from extinction in the UK. The cats were reared at a wildlife park operated by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) as part of a breeding programme that will eventually lead to about 60 wildcats being released in the Cairngorm mountains south of Inverness.

The project, the first time a predatory mammal has been deliberately reintroduced in the UK, was set up after the cats’ numbers plummeted as a result of significant losses of native woodland, human persecution and interbreeding with domestic cats.

In 2019, a landmark report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature said the Scottish wildcat population was close to being functionally extinct because of a loss of genetic integrity and population decline. Its wild population, estimated then to be about 30 animals, was found to be “no longer viable”.

Over the past three months, 19 young wildcats, raised from cats held in British collections including a number living in captivity at the RZSS wildlife park, have been released at a secret location in the Cairngorms, protected by CCTV cameras. Each has been fitted with a GPS tag regularly monitored by staff from the Scottish Wildcat Action programme, so their movements and behaviour can be tracked. The project also provides extra food, to supplement their normal diet of rabbits, voles and mice.

EDIT

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/13/wildcats-released-wild-cairngorms-scottish-highlands