About 20 specially bred wildcats are being released at secret locations in the Scottish Highlands by conservationists hoping to save the species from extinction in the UK.
The animals were raised in captivity at a wildlife park in the Cairngorms as part of a breeding programme run by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which is expected to release up to 60 cats into the wild over the next three years.
It is the first time a predatory mammal such as the wildcat has been officially released in the UK, and if successful will increase calls for Eurasian lynx to be introduced in Scotland – more than 1,000 years after they were hunted to extinction.
The captive breeding programme was set up after Scotland’s wildcat population was on the cusp of being declared genetically extinct in the wild in 2019 because of habitat loss and interbreeding with feral domestic cats.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature said the wild population was “no longer viable”. It estimated as few as 30 were living in the wild in Scotland. “The number of wildcats is too small, the hybridisation too far advanced and the population too fragmented,” it said.
Although the cats, which feed on mice, voles and rabbit, have been carefully acclimatised using animals raised in captivity in the Cairngorms, ecologists still worry they face major survival challenges.
Local people including gamekeepers, who may fear wildcats could eat grouse and pheasant chicks, have been educated about wildcat living habits.
The project has also heavily monitored feral and domestic cats in the release area, with 100 camera traps locating cats, which are then trapped and if necessary vaccinated and neutered to avoid hybridisation with wildcats.
The wildcats have been released in the Cairngorms national park wearing satellite tracking collars so they can be carefully monitored and supervised.
Dr Helen Senn, the project leader and head of science and conservation programmes for the RZSS, said that eventually wildcats raised or trapped on mainland Europe could be included in the release scheme.
“We hope that this project will pave the way for the full recovery of Scotland’s last remaining native cat species,” she said.
“Unfortunately, life is tough for wild carnivores and the sad reality is that some of the wildcats that we release will not survive due to threats such as road traffic. Their survival is contingent on their individual behaviour in a new environment.
“However, we also know that inaction will result in extinction. As human activity is responsible for the wildcat’s decline, we have a responsibility to take action now to protect one of our rarest and most threatened mammals.”
Francesca Osowska, the chief executive of NatureScot, the government conservation agency, said the project sat within a wider mosaic of species reintroduction and rewilding projects.
“A huge amount of work has laid the ground for these wildcat releases, and we’re proud to have played our part in that. Our research shows that wildcats are facing extinction in Scotland, which makes conservation translocations like this a vital tool for the species’ recovery,” she said.
“The newly released wildcats will face significant challenges as they seek to establish themselves, so it’s crucial we continue to do everything we can to give them the best chance to survive, and thrive, in Scotland.”
