English-born Scottish wildcat moves north in bid to save species

A Scottish wildcat kitten born in the south of England has been brought to the Highlands as part of a drive to save the iconic native species from extinction.

The wildcat is the UK’s only native feline and the country’s most endangered mammal. Picture: Ben Jones\SWNS

The eight-month-old male wildcat is one of a litter of four kittens bred at the Wildwood Trust centre in Kent.

He underwent thorough health checks ahead of being selected for a new conservation programme that aims to reintroduce the critically endangered animals back into the wild after being declared “functionally extinct”.

He has now travelled hundreds of miles to a new home at the Highland Wildlife Park near Kingussie.

He will become one of the first cats at a new specialist breeding centre set up last year by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.

The six-year programme has received £3.2 million of funding from the European Union.

The Wildwood Trust has been actively involved in the conservation breeding programme for the past few years and has previously transferred kittens to other zoological collections to help preserve the species.

The wildcat is the UK’s only native feline and the country’s most endangered mammal.

They were once found across mainland Britain but a combination of persecution and habitat loss has driven them to the brink of extinction.

The few remaining survivors are confined to a few areas in the Scottish Highlands.

Although now fully protected by law, they still suffer through road kill and illegal trapping and poisoning.

But experts have agreed that without genetic management the current population is no longer viable on its own.

Despite not being closely related, wildcats are able to interbreed with domestic moggies and this is the biggest threat to their survival.

It is hoped the kitten will go on to produce offspring that will eventually see wildcats thriving in Scotland.

David Barclay, from Highland Wildlife Park, said the project “provides the greatest hope for the recovery of this iconic species”.

Head of conservation at Wildwood Trust Laura Gardner said: “The programme is about working together across the UK to save an animal brought to the brink of extinction by generations of persecution.

“This combined conservation effort not only aims to restore the wildcat to Scotland but will also drive long-term habitat restoration which aids a multitude of species and provides many human health benefits.”