Critically endangered wildcats now call the Cairngorms National Park home - Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS)
The first round of wildcat releases in Scotland has been completed by Saving Wildcats, led by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) in partnership with NatureScot, Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), The Cairngorms National Park Authority, Nordens Ark and Consejería de Sostenibilidad, Medio Ambiente y Economía Azul de la Junta de Andalucía.
19 wildcats, which were released in small clusters in locations within the Cairngorms National Park and Cairngorms Connect landscape throughout the summer, have been tracked daily using GPS-radio collars.
By using tracking technology, researchers have been able to collect valuable data on what kind of areas the cats are inhabiting and how they move within that landscape.
Dr Keri Langridge, Saving Wildcats In-Situ Conservation Manager who is leading the tracking, said, “Most individuals have stayed relatively local to the release locations so far, while others have explored more widely across Badenoch and Strathspey. The cats are typically using a mixture of rough grassland, mixed woodland and riparian habitats, which provide prey such as mice and voles, as well as cover to hide from disturbance threats, including people and dogs. Camera traps which we have positioned across the release sites have also recorded videos of the animals exhibiting positive behaviours such as hunting prey.”
In another fundamental step for the project, a total of 13 kittens have been born in the Saving Wildcats conservation breeding for release centre at RZSS’s Highland Wildlife Park this year. Once the kittens reach six-to-eight months old they will be transferred to pre-release enclosures to prepare for their release into the wild in summer 2024.
You can read more about Saving Scotland's Wildcats in this article written for CJS by Helena Parsons, Saving Wildcats Conservation Project Officer (Outreach and Engagement)
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Posted On: 13/10/2023