The first ever release of captive-bred wildcats into the wild in Scotland has been approved in a bid to protect the critically endangered animals.
Scotland’s wildlife agency NatureScot has green-lit a licence from the Saving Wildcats partnership to relocate the creatures into Cairngorms National Park later this year.
The first in a series of trial releases at the Highland location - the UK’s biggest national park - is expected to happen in June.
If successful, it could see around 20 wildcats set loose into the wild every year.
Known as the “Highland Tiger”, some of Scotland’s beautiful and rare wildcats already live in the Cairngorms in the wild.
But the population is rapidly dwindling with fewer than 300 left in the country.
NatureScot’s Head of Biodiversity Dr Katherine Leys said: “Habitat loss, persecution and hybridisation with domestic cats has brought the Scottish wildcat population to the brink of extinction.
“Our decision to grant a translocation licence to allow wildcats to be released in the Highlands of Scotland marks a crucial point in the long journey towards conserving this iconic species.”
Led by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), the application from Saving Wildcats was submitted last September, with animal welfare issues and site suitability assessed by the nature agency.
Saving Wildcats project lead and RZSS conservation chief Dr Helen Senn said: “After release, the wildcats will be monitored using GPS collars as they face the many challenges of life in the wild.
“The fight to restore Scotland’s wildcat populations is just beginning."
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