Scottish Wildcat Photographed

The Scottish wildcat, also known as the Highland tiger, is so reclusive that scientists don’t know much about it. Camera traps set in the Cairngorms National Park are now yielding pictures of the cats that may help conservationists protect the animal.

The research is being led by Dr David Hetherington of the Cairngorms National Park Authority.

He told BBC Scotland: “Wildcats are very shy, secretive animals. They are active mainly at night and it’s really difficult for people to get close enough to watch them properly.

“These camera traps are an excellent way of us getting a much better insight into where wildcats live, when they’re active, and what habitat they’re using.

“We can also get an idea of where they don’t live and, of course, that’s also really important information.”

Experts believe the Scottish wildcat population has fallen to about 400, and work is under way to prevent the species becoming extinct.

The biggest threat to the wildcat’s survival as a species is their tendency to interbreed with domestic cats. The Scottish wildcat is the last wild feline predator in Scotland. Link -Via: ForteanTimes, Via: Neatorama

(image credit: Neil Anderson)

The Worlds Only Untameable Cat

The Scottish Wild Cat, Britain’s largest mammal predator and only remaining wild feline, is one cat you really don’t want to own as a pet! Even when reared in captivity, this is the only wild animal man has failed in his attempts to enslave. Now an endangered species, there are only four hundred individual creatures living in the wild and just a handful of breeding cats held in captivity.

These cats may look quite similar to a large domestic tabby but they’re extremely tough and their reputation has earned the the nick-name “Tiger of The Highlands”. In fact, they were here long before the domestic cat arrived on the scene but, sadly, their numbers are now dwindling and it’s predicted they could be entirely extinct within as little as ten years. LINK