Scientific name: Felis silvestris

Length: 85cm head to tail

Weight: 4-5kg

Lifespan 10-12 Years

The Scottish wildcat resembles the domestic tabby cat and is regarded as the ancestor of the domestic cat. It is however bigger and stockier with longer legs, a board flat face and large, pointed ears. Its ringed tail is bushy with a dark, blunt tip. Stripy brown-grey fur helps it blend in with woodland shrubs.

Today there are just a few left living in remote forests of the Scottish Highland but it used to roam woodlands all over England, Wales and Scotland.

It is a carnivorous predator and stalks woodland edges moving stealthily through the shrubbery and pouncing on unsuspecting prey such as rabbits, hares and birds.

Centuries of hunting and habitat loss nearly wiped out the wildcat in Britain. Today, the wildcat’s biggest threat is interbreeding with feral domestic cats. This dilutes the wildcat’s genes and produces hybrid kittens. If this continues soon there will be no true wildcats left.

Conservationists have ambitious plans to breed and release wildcats into Scottish wilderness. Efforts are also made to neuter domestic cats to decrease hybridisation. Environmental groups such as the Woodlands Trust, are restoring forests in Scotland in order to preserve the wildcat’s natural habitat. The hope is that these actions will boost the wildcats population and save the species from extinction.