All articles tagged with #scottish wildcats
The mysterious Kellas cat, once thought to be a cryptid in Scotland, was revealed in 1986 to be a hybrid between European wildcats and domestic cats, with recent studies indicating increased hybridization that threatens the wildcat population's survival in Scotland.
Young captive-bred Scottish wildcats have been released into the wild in the Cairngorms National Park, marking the first release of its kind in Britain. The release is part of a European project led by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) in partnership with conservation and governmental organizations. The wildcats are on the brink of extinction due to habitat clearance, persecution, and breeding with domestic cats. The project aims to breed and release around 20 kittens annually over the next few years to establish a wild population. The cats will be fitted with GPS tracking collars to gather information about their behavior and lifestyle.