Scottish wildcat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Felis silvestris silvestris |
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| Female and kitten at the British Wildlife Centre | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Feliformia |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | Felinae |
| Genus: | Felis |
| Species: | F. silvestris |
| Subspecies: | F. s. silvestris |
| Trionomial name | |
| Felis silvestris silvestris | |
The Scottish wildcat is a special kind of European wildcat that lives in Scotland. It's often called the "Highland Tiger" because of its wild looks.
Long ago, these wildcats lived all over Great Britain. But their numbers have dropped a lot since the 1900s. This happened because they lost their homes and were hunted. Now, you can only find them in northern and eastern Scotland.
Surveys using camera traps between 2010 and 2013 showed that wildcats mostly live in mixed woodland areas. On the other hand, feral and domestic cats were mostly seen in grasslands.
The Scottish wildcat is now listed as Critically Endangered in the United Kingdom. This means it's at a very high risk of disappearing forever. A big problem is that they are breeding with domestic cats. Because of this, many experts believe the Scottish wildcat is now "functionally extinct" in the wild. This means there are no pure wildcats left, or so few that they can't survive on their own.
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What is a Scottish Wildcat?
The Scottish wildcat looks a lot like a large, powerful tabby cat. But it's wild! It has thick, striped fur and a bushy, ringed tail with a black tip.
It's heavier than a regular domestic cat. It also has longer leg bones and a stronger skull. You can tell it apart from a domestic cat by the clear stripes on its cheeks and back legs. It also doesn't have spots, white markings, or colored backs of its ears.
- Male wildcats are about 57.8 to 63.6 cm long, not including their tails. Their tails are about 30.5 to 35.5 cm long.
- Female wildcats are a bit smaller, about 50.4 to 57.2 cm long, with tails around 28 to 34.1 cm long.
- Males usually weigh between 3.77 and 7.26 kg.
- Females are lighter, weighing about 2.35 to 4.68 kg.
Where They Live
Scottish wildcats have been in Britain for a very long time, since the early Holocene period. Back then, the British Isles were connected to continental Europe.
They used to be common all over Great Britain. But by the 16th century, they probably disappeared from southern England. By the mid-1800s, they were only found in parts of Wales and Northumberland. By 1915, they were only in northwestern Scotland.
After World War I, fewer people hunted them, and new forests were planted. This helped the wildcat population grow again to its current areas. However, cities and factories stopped them from spreading further south in Scotland.
Today, you can find them in places like the Cairngorms, the Black Isle, Aberdeenshire, the Angus Glens, and Ardnamurchan. They like living in wooded areas, shrubland, and near forest edges. They tend to avoid open moorland or thick gorse bushes. They also prefer areas away from farms and don't like snow deeper than 10 cm.
Behavior and Ecology
Scientists used radio collars to track 31 Scottish wildcats between 1995 and 1997. They found that wildcats are most active at night. They are less active when the moon is bright or when it's windy.
Male wildcats have large areas where they live, called home ranges. These often overlap with the home ranges of several females. However, female wildcats usually don't share their home ranges with other females. Adult cats have bigger territories than younger ones. They mark their areas using their poop to let other cats know it's their space.
In and around Cairngorms National Park, a wildcat's home range is about 2.44 to 3.8 square kilometers.
Wildcats mainly hunt and eat European rabbits and field voles. Their poop has also shown remains of wood mice, other voles, and birds. If they catch more food than they can eat, they will bury it to save for later.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Male Scottish wildcats can start having kittens when they are about 10 months old. Females can start when they are less than 12 months old.
In the wild, wildcats usually mate between January and March. A female can have one to eight kittens at a time, but usually has about four. They rarely have kittens in winter.
Kittens are born in a hidden den. This den might be in a pile of rocks, under tree roots, or in a brush pile. Kittens open their eyes when they are 10 to 13 days old. Their eyes are blue at first, then turn green around seven weeks of age.
They start learning to hunt when they are 10 to 12 weeks old. They stop drinking their mother's milk around 14 weeks. They leave their mothers when they are about six months old. Many kittens died during one winter survey because they starved.
Scottish wildcats in zoos have lived for up to 15 years. But in the wild, they don't live as long. This is often due to car accidents or diseases they catch from feral domestic cats.
Threats to Wildcats
The Scottish wildcat population faces several big dangers:
- Loss of habitat: Their homes are being destroyed or changed.
- Breeding with domestic cats: This is called hybridization. It means pure Scottish wildcats are becoming rarer as they breed with pet cats that roam outside. It's thought that all Scottish wildcats today have some domestic cat family in them.
- Diseases: Unvaccinated domestic cats can spread serious diseases to wildcats, like different kinds of feline viruses.
- Being hunted: Historically, wildcats were often killed because they were seen as pests that might hunt game birds.
One current issue is a plan by a company called Vattenfall Wind Power to build wind farms in Clashindarroch Forest. This forest is considered a "wildcat wonderland" by the Scottish government. Many people are worried that building wind farms there would harm the wildcats living in that area. Activists have gathered many signatures to protect the forest.
Helping the Wildcats
The Scottish wildcat is a protected animal under a law called the United Kingdom's Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Since 2007, it has been a top priority species in the U.K. Biodiversity Action Plan.
A group called the Scottish Wildcat Conservation Action Group created a plan to help these cats. They decided on important actions and who would be responsible for them between 2013 and 2019.
By 2014, they chose six areas where they thought conservation efforts would work best. These areas included Morvern, Strathpeffer, Strathbogie, Strathavon, Dulnain, and the Angus Glens. A quiet area called the Ardnamurchan Peninsula was even made a special wildcat sanctuary.
In 2018, a new group called Scottish Wildcat Action took over. But in 2019, a report said that the wildcat population in Scotland was no longer strong enough to survive on its own. It was almost extinct in the wild.
Wildcats in Zoos
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There is a special breeding program for Scottish wildcats in zoos and wildlife parks. This program aims to breed wildcats that have very little or no domestic cat ancestry. Places like the Highland Wildlife Park, Chester Zoo, and the British Wildlife Centre are part of this effort.
Some groups, like the Captive Animals Protection Society, don't agree with zoos. They believe these breeding programs are more about having animals in cages than truly helping conservation.
However, the breeding program has had some success. Six kittens were born at the Highland Wildlife Park in 2015. From 2011 to 2016, 15 kittens survived there. By December 2016, about 80 Scottish wildcats were living in captivity.
In 2023, a plan was approved to release some of these captive-bred wildcats into the Cairngorms region. The first 22 cats were released in June 2023, and more are expected to follow in 2024 and 2025. This is a big step to try and bring the Scottish wildcat back to the wild.
Wildcats in Culture
The Scottish wildcat is a famous symbol of the wild Scottish countryside. It might even be the inspiration for the mythical Scottish creature called the Cat-sìth, a fairy cat.
Since the 1200s, the wildcat has been a symbol for Clan Chattan, a Scottish clan. Many members of Clan Chattan have the Scottish wildcat on their crest badges. Their motto is "Touch not the cat bot a glove," which means "Don't touch the cat without a glove." This motto shows how fierce the Scottish wildcat is! Clan Chattan has been helping with wildcat conservation since 2010.
In 2010, the Royal Mail released stamps featuring endangered mammals, and the Scottish wildcat was one of them.
A documentary film about the Scottish wildcat, called The Tigers of Scotland, came out in 2017. It was narrated by the Scottish actor Iain Glen.
In 2019, Scottish wildcats were the main topic of the first issue of a student magazine from the University of Aberdeen.
Images for kids
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Female and kitten at the British Wildlife Centre
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Scottish wildcat shows its fangs, 2013
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Scottish wildcat at British Wildlife Centre, 2015
See also
In Spanish: Gato montés de Escocia para niños
