Wildcat – Felis silvestris
Tagged: animal, animals, bird, cat, insect, mammalFelis silvestris
Like many predators, the wildcat has suffered extensive persecution. Today the major threat to its survival is genetic dilution of the species as it increasingly interbreeds with domestic cats. The wildcat looks like a domestic tabby, but is larger and has more distinct body stripes and a blunt end to the tail. The wildcat is a solitary and secretive animal found mainly in forested areas across continental Europe and in Scotland. Its range also extends east to the Caspian Sea, an inland salt lake that lies between Europe and Asia. Its major prey is small mammals and birds: mostly mice, voles, rabbits, and other wild species. However, wildcats have been unpopular with humans, who suspect them of being a threat to domestic stock such as lambs and chickens and a danger to children. Although these fears are greatly exaggerated, the wildcat has been trapped, shot, and poisoned widely. Moreover, in the past its skin was prized for its warmth, and its fur became a luxury fashion item for trimming clothing.
Habitat Loss
The wildcat is not seriously endangered. However, the expansion of cities and intensification of farming have resulted in habitat loss. Although some wildcats manage to live close to farms and on the edges of European towns, where they may even visit garbage dumps to feed, they have become more scarce. There are now large areas of Europe where they are extinct, and the remaining populations are widely separated.
Wildcat – Felis silvestris
- Family: Felidae
- World population: More than 50,000, but in widely separated subpopulations
- Distribution: Europe, east to the Caspian Sea
- Habitat: Forested areas
- Size: Length head/body: 22-30 in (50-75 cm); tail: 12 in (30 cm); height at shoulder: 16 in (40 cm). Weight: 10-30 Ib (4.5-13.5 kg)
- Form: Resembles a domestic tabby cat, but is larger and has 7-11 bold stripes on its flanks. The tail is banded with several clear rings and the tip is blunt, not pointed as in domestic cats
- Diet: Small mammals and young rabbits; birds; also frogs and insects
- Breeding: One litter per year, up to 8 kittens (normally 3-4), born May-August. Life span up to 10 years
- Related endangered species: Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus); Iriomote cat (Prionailurus bengalensls iriomotens; various big cats
Interbreeding Problems
The biggest threat by far to wildcats is “genetic pollution” through interbreeding with domestic cats. The wildcats of Europe are so similar to the African wildcat (from which the domestic form is thought to originate) that some zoologists think the two species are actually the same. They are certainly closely related, which is why they interbreed so easily. As a result, the natural wildcat population has begun to include crossbred animals (hybrids).
This genetic dilution undermines the purity of the species. Ironically, as the wildcat’s habitat has shrunk, the animal has been forced into new areas where it encounters domestic cats more often. This has led to more interbreeding and further genetic dilution. Thus the greater the wildcat’s breeding success, the more uncertain its future. At the very least, hybridization will result in a confused picture, with some areas having true wildcats, and others having hybrids. In addition, interbreeding makes the species difficult to monitor. The Berne Convention, the European Union Habitats Directive, and the national legislation of many countries recognize the wildcat’s rarity and have given the animal legal protection. Yet these laws are unable to prevent the main threat of interbreeding. Moreover, since hybrids are not legally protected, the legislation is weakened because anyone killing a wildcat can claim that they thought the animal was a hybrid. Such an assertion cannot be easily disproved. If wildcats and domestic cats really are the same species then it seems impractical to give the animal legal protection, since there are millions of house cats all over the world!
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