Habitat: High altitude, young forest and scrub, woodlands and among rocks on exposed mountainsides.
Geographical spread: Northern Scotland.
Current population: 3,500
Status: Protected under the Wildlife and Conservation Act 1981.
Size: Head and body length 50-80cm, tail length 28-35cm.
Weight: 3-6kg.
Average life expectancy: 12-15 years.
Normal diet: Small mammals such as rabbits, voles, mice, roe deer fawns and birds, possibly the occasional egg and frog.
Normal lifestyle: Climbs and swims well but stays mainly on the ground. Solitary, nocturnal and for the male nomadic. As a result of dispersed food resources, male Wildcats defend fairly large territories of about 176 hectares (435 acres). The bas ic hunting strategy used is solitary stalking. However where food is abundant Wildcats may live in groups to defend and exploit this food. Thus social organisation and feeding ecology is to an extent dependent on the abundance and dispersion of food. Mat ing occurs in February and March and the young are born between April and May. As with the other small cats, Wildcat females raise 3-8 kittens alone. Wildcat females are fiercely protective of her kiffens and keeps them away from the tom cat who is liabl e to kill and eat them. They hunt with their mother when they are 10-12 weeks old but are not fully weaned until they are 4 months old.
Previous geographical spread: Died out in southern England in sixteenth century, managed to survive in many other counties farther north and west until the 1800s. By the end of the century they were gone from the rest of England, Wales and the Sco ttish borders.
Reasons for decline: Killing by gamekeepers was the main reason for their initial decline, as they were seen as threatening stocks of partridge, pheasants and grouse on sporting estates. Throughout last century traps, snares, poison and guns took their toll on numbers of Wildcat. Landowners often gave a bounty for any wildcat killed and indeed on the Duchess of Sutherlands estate 900 were killed in just 3 years during the 1830s. Added to this, people became convinced that the Wildcat was a feroci ous animal. By 1914 numbers were at their lowest since the last Ice Age.
Current threats: Many populations are small and isolated from each other so they are vulnerable to extinction. About one third were declining (information from mid-1980s survey by the Nature Conservancy Council). Unfortunately the Wildcat is not e xpanding its range and is suffering from the effect of hybridisation with domestic cats.
File last modified Thursday, October 3, 1996