Wild Cats Uk Scotland
30 could vaccinate one of the cats to protect them from disease.
Wild cats uk scotland. Now confined to the Scottish highlands wild cats disappeared from southern England in the 16th century with the last one recorded in northern England. Without urgent action wildcats will be lost forever from Britain. They are thought to live 10-12 years in the wild.
Wildcats are in trouble. A combination of hunting and habitat loss meant they disappeared from England and Wales close to 200 years ago. Scotland is home to one of the UKs national treasures the Scottish Wildcat.
Scottish wildcats are one of our rarest mammals. This project includes the development of Britains first dedicated wildcat conservation breeding for release centre and aims to secure the future of the species. The wildcat would have once been found throughout mainland Britain.
Persecuted for centuries its range steadily declined until by the First World War it was only found in the north west of. We are the only Scottish wildcat conservation group focussed solely on saving the wildcat in the wild where it belongs. 350 could feed a wildcat for an entire year in the new centre.
The Scottish wildcat Felis silvestris is one of our most elusive carnivores and the only native member of the cat family still found in the wild in Britain. Once widespread wildcats are now on the brink of extinction in Scotland. Working together with the project partners the UKs captive breeding holders for wildcats and international specialists in species recovery Saving Wildcats is the greatest hope for wildcats in Scotland.
This species is native to Europe and the Caucasus and in Britain is confined to Scotland north of Glasgow and Edinburgh. The Scottish wildcat evolved from a population of European wildcats which became isolated by the English Channel over 9000 years ago. These have been domesticated for some time and are brought these as pets to Britain.