Scottish Wildcats - Powerful Hunters and Endangered Animals

The Scottish wildcat is a muscular and powerful hunter with excellent vision and hearing. It can move at up to thirty miles an hour when hunting and uses its sharp, retractable claws to trap its prey. The prey is then killed with a bite to the neck. Wildcats are solitary animals and maintain a territory, which they defend assertively. The cats have long been a symbol for the beautiful, wild and untamed areas of Scotland.

A Scottish wildcat looks somewhat like a domestic tabby cat. The dense coat is brown or greyish brown in color and has black stripes. However, the wildcat is generally larger than a domestic cat and has a heavier build. It also has a thick, bushy tail with distinct black rings and a black, blunt tip, while a tabby cat has a tapered tail with a pointed tip.

Wildcats have a widespread distribution through Europe, Asia and Africa, and the population as a whole isn’t considered to be endangered by conservation organizations. However, a big threat to their survival as a distinct animal is hybridization with domestic cats. This is very common in some parts of their range, including in Scotland, where it’s thought that fewer than four hundred non-hybrids exist. The population of Scottish wildcats is considered to be critically endangered and heading for extinction.

The scientific name of the wildcat is Felis silvestris. There are generally considered to be five subspecies - the European, African, Southern African, Asiatic and Chinese Alpine Steppe wildcats. This classification system is controversial, though, and some people think that the Scottish wildcat should be classified in its own subspecies instead of with the European wildcat. There is considerable variation in wildcat appearance throughout its range.

The European wildcat is classified as Felis silvestris silvestris. (Felis is the genus, the first silvestris is the species and the second silvestris is the subspecies.) The Scottish wildcat is sometimes classified as Felis silvestris grampia, distinguishing it from its European ancestor. The domestic cat, which is thought to have developed from the African wildcat, is classified as Felis catus, or sometimes as Felis silvestris catus. Scientists who use the latter scientific name consider the domestic cat to be a subspecies of the wildcat.

The IUCN (International Union for Conservation for Nature) classifies the wildcat population in its “Least Concern” category for conservation purposes, but points out that if only non-hybrid wildcats were considered in the population count the results might be very different. Another problem with assessing the status of a population is that sometimes feral domestic cats may be mistakenly identified as wildcats, producing inflated population numbers.

The Scottish wildcat is also known as the Highland tiger. It's said to be untameable, even when it's born and brought up in captivity, and is the largest and heaviest of all the wildcats. Males may reach as much as seventeen pounds in weight, although the average is a few pounds less. Females weigh less than males.

In addition to the differences in size, build and tail appearance between the Scottish wildcat and a domestic tabby cat, the wildcats have larger skulls, longer leg bones, and shorter intestines, and may have better eyesight too. In addition, researchers have identified seven coat pattern differences which enable experts to distinguish wildcats from tabbies. The wildcat's winter coat is longer than the summer coat.

Scottish wildcats are usually nocturnal or crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk), although they may be seen during the day. They live in a wide variety of habitats, including forested areas, scrubland and moors, and are sometimes seen on pastureland too. A male's territory may overlap the territory of one or more females. The cats mark their territories with urine, feces and secretions from scent glands. Wildcats aren't very vocal, but they do make sounds during aggression and mating.

The cats spend most of the day hidden in dense trees or bushes, or in a den. At dusk, or sometimes during the day, they emerge to feed. Wildcats usually hunt with stealth. They are carnivorous and feed chiefly on rodents, including rabbits, hares, mice and voles, but they also catch birds, frogs, lizards and fish. They dip their paws into water to try to scoop out the fish. The cats eat nearly every part of their catch, including the fur, feathers and bones. The prey is eaten immediately or buried for future use.

Scottish wildcats mate in February or March. After a gestation period of around sixty five days the female produces two to four kittens (on average) in a den. The den is either freshly made or inherited from another animal. The male seems to play no role in rearing the youngsters. When the kittens are ready to eat solid food their mother brings them live prey. The kittens leave home and look for their own territories at between five and six months of age. In the wild, wildcats live for about six to eight years. In captivity they live about fifteen years.

Human persecution has played a large role in the decrease in the wildcat population. In the past Scottish wildcats were often considered to be pests by gamekeepers and farmers, and were killed. Persecution, habitat destruction and being hunted for their fur resulted in the elimination of wildcats from England and Wales in the 1800's.

Now the wildcats are protected animals, but hybridization has become a big problem. The mating of wildcats with domestic cats isn't a new process and has been taking place for a long time, but as the domestic cat population has increased so has the cross breeding. The hybrids are fertile and can produce a new generation of cats. Diseases transferred from domestic cats have also played a role in reducing wildcat numbers. Sometimes cats reach roads and are killed by cars.

Some people wonder why we need to worry about whether a cat seen in the wild areas of Scotland is a wildcat, a hybrid or a feral domestic cat. The Scottish wildcat is a protected animal, so it's beneficial for an animal to be classified as a wildcat. In addition, scientists have found that Scottish wildcats are genetically different from domestic cats. The wildcat gene pool is being diluted - their distinct genes are disappearing from the population and being replaced by domestic cat genes as hybridization occurs in generation after generation. The process doesn’t sound as dramatic as a species disappearing due to over hunting or habitat loss (although suitable habitat for the wildcat is disappearing), but the end result as far as the species (or subspecies) is concerned is the same - extinction.

Conservation efforts include a captive breeding program with non-hybrid animals, captive breeding-for-release programs and education programs to encourage cat owners to neuter and vaccinate their pets. Conservation organizations are trying to publicize the plight of the wildcat. The general public is also being encouraged to help with wildcat surveys, take photographs and make notes about any wildcats that they see. The cats are elusive animals, so all encounters are important for collecting information. Farmers are being encouraged to control predation on their animals in a way that doesn't hurt wildcats. In addition, feral cats are being trapped, neutered and released, and Edinburgh Zoo has organized a project to collect and analyze genetic information about Scottish wildcats. One researcher has suggested that wildcats should be cloned. Hopefully the efforts being made to ensure the survival of the Scottish wildcat will be successful. It would be a great shame to lose this beautiful creature from Earth.