What is the 'Saving Wildcats' project in the Cairngorms?

It's a conservation initiative led by RZSS that breeds wildcats in captivity and releases them into the Cairngorms National Park to restore the species.

Why were Scottish wildcats functionally extinct?

Numbers dwindled due to disease, habitat loss, and interbreeding with domestic cats, leading to functional extinction by 2018.

What are the main threats to wildcats in Scotland?

The primary threats include hybridisation with domestic cats, disease, and habitat loss, which the conservation efforts aim to mitigate.

Home / Environment / Hope for Scotland's Wildcats: Breeding Program Thrives

Hope for Scotland's Wildcats: Breeding Program Thrives

17 Dec

•

Summary

Wildcat population grows significantly in Cairngorms National Park.
Captive-bred wildcats show high survival rates after release.
Hybridisation threat remains, with efforts to neuter domestic cats.

Hope for Scotland's Wildcats: Breeding Program Thrives

The 'Saving Wildcats' project in Scotland's Cairngorms National Park is demonstrating significant success in revitalizing the native wildcat population. Initiated by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), the program involves breeding wildcats in captivity and releasing them into their natural habitat, leading to a notable increase in numbers. This initiative is crucial given that Scotland's wildcat population was declared "functionally extinct" in 2018 due to disease, habitat loss, and interbreeding with domestic cats.

Initial findings from the project's first year, published in IUCN's Cat News, reveal that a vast majority of the 19 released cats survived their initial 10 months, showing minimal injury or disease and an average body weight increase of 20%. Although two kittens succumbed to external causes after the study period, the overall survival and reproduction rates have improved dramatically. The project has released 46 cats over the past three years, with some females successfully raising their own litters.