Scottish wildcat

Scottish wildcat
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Felis
Species: F. silvestris
Subspecies: F. s. grampia
Trinomial name
Felis silvestris grampia
Miller, 1907
Synonyms
  • Felis sylvestris sylvestris Schreber, 1777
  • Felis grampia Miller 1907

The Scottish wildcat (Felis silvestris grampia), or Highlands tiger, is a dark colored subspecies of the European wildcat native to Scotland. Its range previously also included England and Wales, but it became extinct in these areas, as well as in southern Scotland, within the last 150 years. Extant numbers are estimated at between 400 and 4000.[1] The Scottish wildcat population is threatened primarily by interbreeding with domestic cats.[2] It is the only wild feline left on the island of Great Britain.[3]

Taxonomy

In its original classification in 1907, the Scottish wildcat was listed as a full species, Felis grampia.[4] However, it was soon revised to a subspecies, Felis sylvestris grampia, in 1912.[4] There is continuing uncertainty about the relation of the Scottish wildcat to other European wildcats; some propose that it is indistinguishable from subspecies from continental Europe, or that all the wildcat subspecies are indistinct and should be treated as a single species.[4] The subspecies name grampia likely comes from the name of a Scottish mountain range, the Grampian Mountains; the describer of the species did not explicitly state its etymology.[5]

Description

Males are 3.77–7.26 kg (8.3–16.0 lb), while females are smaller at 2.35–4.68 kg (5.2–10.3 lb).[6] Scottish wildcats can be distinguished from domestic cats by their heavier, more robust skulls.[7] They also have larger body size and shorter intestines.[7] Scottish wildcats also have longer limb-bones than domestic cats.[7] Their coats have distinctly-striped tabby patterning.[3] Their tails are thick, ringed, black at the tips, and blunt.[3] While domestic cats may have the following coloration or patterns, they are unlikely to be found in wildcats: white chins, striped cheeks, spotted undersides, striped hind legs, colored backs of ears, white on flanks, or white on backs.[3] Their ears are capable of 180° rotation.[6] They can live at least 15 years in captivity, but may only live 2-3 years in the wild due to automobile strikes and disease from feral cats.[8][9]

History

The Scottish wildcat has been present in Britain since the early Holocene, when the British Isles were connected to continental Europe via the Doggerland.[10] It was once common throughout all of Britain.[11] Wildcats were frequently killed to protect game species of bird, and they were considered vermin. [12] Wildcats were likely extirpated from Southern England during the 16th century, and extirpated from Northern England and Wales by 1880.[13]

Range

Scottish wildcats are found in colder, drier parts of Scotland that are less suitable for farming.[7] Preferred habitat includes woodland and shrubland.[14] Their current distribution includes Cairngorms, Black Isle, Aberdeenshire, and Ardnamurchan.[6]

Biology

Reproduction

Breeding occurs from January to March. After a gestation period of 63-68 days, females give birth to a litter of kittens.[6] Kittens are born in a den, which can be within a cairn, brush piles, and under tree roots.[14][9] Kittens do not open their eyes until 10-13 days old; though their eyes are initially blue, they change to green around seven weeks of age. Kittens begin learning how to hunt at 10-12 weeks old, and are fully weaned by 14 weeks old.[6] A second estrous can occur at the end of lactation, with the second litter of the year born in August.[15] Although females do give birth in winter, it is at a much lower frequency than in spring or summer.[16] Kittens born in the winter have much higher likelihood of dying from starvation; in 1975–1978, all monitored kittens born in winter starved.[14] The average litter size for the wildcat is 4.3, but litters can have as few as 1 or as many as 8 kittens.[16][6] Both males and females reach sexual maturity before one year of age.[15] Scottish wildcats are solitary, with kittens leaving their mothers around six months of age.[9][14][17]

Hunting and behavior

Wildcats are mainly crepuscular or nocturnal, though they may hunt at all hours during the winter when food is scarce.[6] A main prey source for wildcats is rabbits, particularly young or ill individuals.[14] Wildcats also consume voles, mice, and hares.[9] Any uneaten remnants of a kill will be buried in a cache to save for later.[6] Wildcats will defend good hunting habitat from other wildcats using scent marking through their scat.[14] Territory sizes can exceed 25 km2 (9.7 sq mi), although they are much smaller in areas of high prey density (0.3–6 km2 (0.12–2.32 sq mi)).[9][6] Adult cats are able to maintain larger territories than juveniles.[14] While male wildcats' ranges sometimes overlap with female ranges, female ranges do not overlap.[14] Wildcats do not appear to be active when snowfall exceeds 10 centimetres (3.9 in), which may be hard for them to move through.[18]

Conservation

The Scottish wildcat was given protected status under the United Kingdom's Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.[3] While the subspecies will need conservation action to maintain a viable population, this is made difficult by its hybridization with domestic cats.[3] It is likely that all wildcats today have at least some domestic cat ancestry.[19] Domestic cats also transmit diseases to the wildcat, including feline calicivirus, feline coronavirus, feline foamy virus, and the fatal feline leukemia virus.[4] In the wild, efforts to conserve wildcats include neutering feral cats and euthanizing diseased feral cats to prevent hybridization and spread of disease.[20] Other continued threats to the wildcat include habitat loss and hunting.[6] While Scottish wildcats are legally protected in the United Kingdom, feral cats can be killed throughout the year.[21] Due to their similarity, it is possible that people who mean to kill feral, domesticated cats may end up shooting the protected wildcat instead.

Captive breeding

A captive breeding program exists in Scotland, using individuals that pass genetic and morphological tests to be considered wildcats with minimal hybridization.[17] Six kittens were born at the Highland Wildlife Park in 2015.[17] From 2011 to 2016, there have been 15 surviving wildcat kittens born at the Highland Wildlife Park.[22] The breeding program involves other facilities, including the Alladale Wilderness Reserve, Chester Zoo, British Wildlife Centre, Port Lympne Wild Animal Park, and the Aigas Field Centre.[22][23][8] The captive breeding program has drawn criticism from animal-rights organizations like Captive Animals Protection Society, which stated that the breeding program has "...little to do with conservation and everything to do with these zoos stocking their cages."[24] As of December 2016, around 80 Scottish wildcats were in captivity.[25]

In culture

The wildcat is traditionally an icon of Scottish wilderness.[6] The wildcat or its hybrid is the likely inspiration of the mythological Scottish creature, Cat sìth.[6] The Scottish wildcat has been a symbol of Clan Chattan, a Scottish clan, since the 13th century.[26] Most of the member clans of Clan Chattan have the wildcat on their crest badges, and their motto is "Touch not the cat bot a glove,"– "bot" meaning "without."[26] The motto is a reference to the ferocity of wildcats. Clan Chattan has participated in wildcat conservation efforts since 2010.[26]

References

  1. ↑ UK | Scotland | Highlands and Islands | Wildcat population to be surveyed. BBC News (19 February 2008). Retrieved on 2017-04-26.
  2. ↑ Wildcats – Scottish Natural Heritage. Snh.gov.uk (19 February 2016). Retrieved on 2017-04-26.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kitchener, A. C., Yamaguchi, N., Ward, J. M., & Macdonald, D. W. (2005). A diagnosis for the Scottish wildcat (Felis silvestris): a tool for conservation action for a critically‐endangered felid. Animal Conservation, 8(3), 223-237.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Macdonald, D. W., Yamaguchi, N., Kitchener, A. C., Daniels, M., Kilshaw, K., & Driscoll, C. (2010). Reversing cryptic extinction: the history, present and future of the Scottish Wildcat. The Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids, 471-492.
  5. ↑ Miller, G. S. (1907). L.—Some new European Insectivora and Carnivora. Journal of Natural History, 20(119), 389-398.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Kilshaw, Kerry (2011). "Scottish Wildcats: Naturally Scottish" (PDF). snh.org. Scottish Natural Heritage. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Daniels, M. J., Balharry, D., Hirst, D., Kitchener, A. C., & Aspinall, R. J. (1998). Morphological and pelage characteristics of wild living cats in Scotland: implications for defining the ‘wildcat’. Journal of Zoology, 244(2), 231-247.
  8. 1 2 Gartner, M. C., & Weiss, A. (2013). Scottish wildcat (Felis silvestris grampia) personality and subjective well-being: Implications for captive management. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 147(3), 261-267.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Burns, Vicky (October 28, 2016). "Top 10 facts about Scottish wildcats". scottishwildcataction.org. Scottish Wildcat Action. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  10. ↑ Yalden DW (1999) The History of British Mammals. Poyser, London.
  11. ↑ Easterbee N, Hepburn LV, Jeffries DJ (1991) Survey of the status and distribution of the wildcat in Scotland, 1983–1987. Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland, Edinburgh.
  12. ↑ Campbell, Roo (March 17, 2017). "Shooting Scottish wildcats". scottishwildcataction.org. Scottish Wildcat Action. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  13. ↑ Langley, P. J. W., & Yalden, D. W. (1977). The decline of the rarer carnivores in Great Britain during the nineteenth century. Mammal Review, 7(3‐4), 95-116.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Corbett, L. K. (1979). Feeding ecology and social organization of wildcats (Felis silvestris) and domestic cats (Felis catus) in Scotland (Doctoral dissertation, University of Aberdeen).
  15. 1 2 Matthews, L. H. (1941, October). Reproduction in the Scottish wild cat, Felis silvestris grampia Miller. In Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London (Vol. 111, No. 1‐2, pp. 59-77). Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
  16. 1 2 Daniels, M. J., Wright, T. C., Bland, K. P., & Kitchener, A. C. (2002). Seasonality and reproduction in wild-living cats in Scotland. Acta Theriologica, 47(1), 73-84.
  17. 1 2 3 Barclay, David (February 16, 2016). "Scottish wildcat breeding programme – what, where and when?". rzss.org.uk. The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  18. ↑ Kilshaw, K., Johnson, P. J., Kitchener, A. C., & Macdonald, D. W. (2015). Detecting the elusive Scottish wildcat Felis silvestris silvestris using camera trapping. Oryx, 49(02), 207-215.
  19. ↑ Beaumont, M., Barratt, E. M., Gottelli, D., Kitchener, A. C., Daniels, M. J., Pritchard, J. K., & Bruford, M. W. (2001). Genetic diversity and introgression in the Scottish wildcat. Molecular Ecology, 10(2), 319-336.
  20. ↑ Keane, Kevin (February 22, 2017). "Feral cats neutered to protect rare Scottish wildcats". BBC News. London. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  21. ↑ Aebischer,N.J., Davey,P.D. & Kingdon,N.G. (2011). National Gamebag Census: Mammal Trends to 2009. Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, Fordingbridge (http://www.gwct.org.uk/ngcmammals).
  22. 1 2 Barclay, David (April 21, 2016). "The journey of last year's litter of Scottish wildcat kittens". scottishwildcataction.org. Scottish Wildcat Action. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Video: Chester Zoo carnivore experts breed Britain’s rarest mammal". chesterzoo.org. Chester Zoo. July 15, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  24. ↑ "UK Zoos in controversy as plot to cage endangered Scottish wildcats is exposed". captiveanimals.org. Captive Animals' Protection Society. April 3, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  25. ↑ Barclay, David (December 2, 2016). "Scottish wildcat conservation breeding for release a lifeline for the species?". scottishwildcataction.org. Scottish Wildcat Action. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  26. 1 2 3 "Scottish Wildcat". clanchattan.org.uk. The Clan Chattan Association. 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
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