Sutherland residents urged to report wildcat sightings
RESIDENTS in the remotest areas of Sutherland are being asked to play their part in an ambitious plan to save the Scottish wildcat.
Wildcat habitats are to be targeted in a new £2 million conservation project to help the species, which is facing extinction through habitat loss, disease and cross-breeding with feral cats.
The plan – involving neutering and vaccinating feral cats – is being launched by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), which has been given £873,000 by the Heritage Lottery Fund and aims to reverse the decline of the "Scottish tiger" within six years.
SNH will also work with land managers to help reduce risks to wildcats and conduct a Scotland-wide awareness-raising campaign, helping people understand the threats to the animal and what domestic cat owners can do to help.
Efforts will be targeted in areas which support the most viable wildcat populations and a conservation breeding programme will be set up to reinforce wild populations in the future.
Scientists will also carry out further research to improve understanding of wildcat ecology and genetics.
A spokesman for SNH told the Northern Times: "Wildcats are very shy and reclusive creatures and we need to know where there are populations.
"For that reason we are asking residents – particularly of remote areas – to let us know of any experienced in the countryside around their homes.
"We will be glad to heard of any anecdotal evidence and it would be even better to see photographs anyone might have.
"With the remote nature of much of Sutherland, it is quite likely populations exist and during the project we will be gleaning information from those closely in touch with wildlife, such as gamekeepers and land managers, as well as the public."
The Scottish wildcat prefers to live on the margins of mountains and moorlands with rough grazing, often combined with forests and some crops, such as in much of Sutherland.
However, research suggests that animals in the east of Scotland prefer marginal agricultural areas with moorlands, pastureland and woodlands, whereas animals in the west favour rough grazing and moorland with limited pastures.
They tend to avoid high mountain areas, exposed coasts and fertile lowlands with intensive agriculture, and have a dispersed, solitary social system, living alone for most of the year and associating only during mating and rearing of kittens.
Wildcats scent-mark to maintain the exclusivity of their home ranges, which are larger for males than females. Male ranges will overlap with females but the ranges of each gender are exclusive.
Females have only one litter in May and give birth to an average of four kittens but they may come into oestrus again if they lose the litter early.
Diet varies markedly across the country, with rabbits making up to 70% of prey in the east but only 34% in the west, where they mainly feed on voles and mice. Wildcats are active both during day and night, although they can be inactive for 24 hours in severe winter weather.
Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse has welcomed the offer of lottery funding for the scheme.
He said: "The Scottish wildcat is an iconic species which is emblematic of the wild parts of Scotland.
"As a society we have a legal and moral obligation to try and conserve the species so that it continues to be part of our natural heritage for generations to come.
"Clearly, great concern has been expressed to me and my predecessors about the decline in Scottish wildcat numbers and, while it is difficult to accurately estimate numbers for what is such an elusive animal, we have now set ourselves the target of halting the decline of the wildcat by the end of the decade and in the longer term we would hope that the steps we will take can help this marvellous animal stage a recovery."
