The Wildcat Haven project in the West Highlands has completed a winter fieldwork season resulting in 100 domestic cats being neutered over the last 12 months, expanding the wildcat threat-free region to almost 800 square miles covering Ardnamurchan, Sunart, Morvern and Moidart.

As winter fieldwork closes, conservation project Wildcat Haven has added a remarkable 300 square mile extension to their threat-free region designed to protect the Scottish wildcat from extinction. Covering several connected peninsulas in the West Highlands, which are protected at heavily monitored land bridge choke-points, the project has carried out intensive feral and domestic cat neutering, working closely with landowners and the local community since 2008, to humanely remove the primary threat to wildcats; cross-mating, or hybridisation, with domestic cats.

Chief scientist on the project, Dr Paul O’Donoghue, explains further, “It’s
all about hybridisation, the wildcat is a very capable survivor and prefers to breed with other wildcats, but it’s so outnumbered by domestic cats that hybridisation is inevitable. This means that over a few generations, those wildcat genes are lost, and you’re just left with domestic and feral cats causing big problems for prey species and themselves; domestics are basically desert cats and, unless they’re curled by a warm fire every night, they live a miserable existence in the Scottish Highlands.”

Working in tight winter fieldwork windows and the worst of the Highlands weather across rough ground, the team has neutered over 50 cats in the last month and more than 100 in the last year, leaving almost 800 square miles where the entire domestic cat population is neutered, allowing the wildcats to begin rebuilding their population.
O’Donoghue adds, “In-situ conservation is so important for this species, there’s very clear recommendation from the IUCN that captive breeding shows no evidence of working for wildcats and that every effort must be made to protect them in the wild. A lot of people were saying ten years ago it just wasn’t possible to remove the domestic cat threat, but we’ve shown it can be done. Our first peninsula, 200 square mile Ardnamurchan, hasn’t had a report of an intact feral or domestic cat in three years now; soon the only cats left will be neutered pets and farm mousers.”
The news follows endorsement Humane Society International UK last year which has sponsored the project to support its exceptional animal welfare standards and humane domestic cat control.
HSI UK Executive Director Claire Bass said; “This is a fantastic example of compassionate conservation in action. Saving this endangered species is of course a fantastic goal, but we’re equally inspired and impressed by the positive impact this work has for feral and domestic cats, humanely stopping uncontrolled breeding into a harsh environment, stopping disease transmission, and promoting responsible pet ownership. Wildcat haven is providing a humane and effective conservation solution, instead of reaching to the gun or poison to remove feral cats, or imprisoning the last remaining wildcats in zoos.”
Wildcat Haven is now looking to expand as far as Fort William and open up further Haven regions in the West Highlands. O’Donoghue explains, “We have now developed a proven template for wildcat conservation that can be rolled out across the Western Highlands. 800 square miles can home around 100 true Scottish wildcats, but our aim is a 7000 square mile threat-free area that could hold a sustainable population and save them from extinction. Wildcat Haven is living proof that the Scottish wildcat can and must be saved in the wild where they belong.’’
Photo and video;
Camera trap stills ©2016 Wildcat Haven; potential pure wildcats awaiting genetic test results living in Wildcat Haven and other West Highlands study sites where future Haven regions are planned; two camera trap videos available for TV news.

Scottish wildcat stills please credit Neville Buck and Adrian Bennett.
Website; www.wildcathaven.com

When Feline gave birth to two cubs on November 4th, 2015, the other female Felicia was introduced already after a few days as part of the WCW leopardproject and “experiment” to have the leopards living as a group or Pride, to see what’s possible and what isn’t. To show the other side of the leopard.

Felicia Immediately started co-mothering Feline’s cubs and was allowed to do so. It happened so that Felicia also was pregnant herself. For almost 2 months they happily lived together (also the males were shortly introduced which went super as well), until disaster stroke and one of the cubs (Kali) sadly died due to an unfortunate incident. When Feline was occupied with the dead cub, first grooming it, then starting to pace up and down with it, and at last partly eating it (like always in nature) Felicia took Olive to the other side and kept her safe there. Felicia also clearly was not herself. After the remains of poor Kali were cleared, Feline started searching and calling for a long time and she clearly had a trauma, which sadly also resulted in her not being able to co-mother Felicia’s cub the first months (even though she was present at the birth, January 3rd 2016, and took care of Solo when Felicia’s second cub didn’t come out as well being a breech-birth…legs first), as she clearly wanted this little boy as a replacement for her lost Kali, so she kidnapped the boy whenever she got the chance. Felicia didn’t mind the first time but the next times Feline took off with little Solo, she got protective, and they were fighting over the little boy so that we were very worried it might get hurt. Felicia is still visiting Feline and little Olive but for a little while longer we keep Solo away from Feline, until he is big enough not to carry around (to be kidnapped..) any longer. The daddies Felipe and Felix are both very kind, gentle and patient to the little ones. Very exceptional to see.

Also the two cubs do love to play with each other (both being “single kids”) and they do so daily now Solo is big enough to handle his bigger girlfiend Olive.
We will keep you up-dated about the leopard families, our observations

We are looking for an organisation that is into protecting, keeping and releasing clouded leopards? Please contact us (Wild Cats World) on info@wildcatsmagazine.nl. There’s a young clouded leopard waiting for a speedy release. At this moment he is cared for at the Cikananga wildlife Rescue center, Java/Indonesia. Anyone who can help out, the sooner the better, please get in touch!!!
Thanks a lot!!

The diminutive African wild cat is often overlooked in favour of its more impressive feline cousins. However, what it lacks in size and strength, it more than makes up for in stealth and success. This small, but perfectly adapted predator, is prevalent in much of sub-Saharan Africa, but is seldom seen. Just like its more famous relative, the leopard, it prefers to remain elusive. And its preference for a clandestine existence makes studying it somewhat difficult, which means that population estimates are scarce and unreliable. But just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean that there isn’t one there!

With mankind’s relentless spread across this once pristine Earth, the future of the African wild cat is in jeopardy for two main reasons. Firstly, as a free roaming animal, it struggles with habit loss due to farming or urbanisation. This then inevitably leads to conflict with livestock and humans.

The wild cat is directly related to the domestic cat, sharing not only the same genus, but also species. The taxonomic separation comes only at a sub-species level. The domestic cat, however, is very adaptable and is the most widely distributed feline in the world. This leads to the second and main issue – genetic reduction. The common house cat and the wild cat will actively hybridise. Being a sub-species, the genetic coding is so similar that dangers of rendering the offspring infertile are rarely encountered. With the spread of humans, the two species come into regular contact and animals are not known for passing up the opportunity to mate. This problem has become so serious that the only way in which to now be 100% certain that you are looking at a pure wild cat is to take a DNA sample! That said, you can often distinguish a true African wild cat by its slightly longer legs with horizontal striping, and a reddish hue behind the ears.

The process of domestication of wild cats occurred in ancient Egypt around 10,000 years ago. Cats were revered by the Egyptians as symbols of grace, fertility and motherhood. Such was their influence that in some cases, cats were even mummified and offered as sacrifices to the goddess Bast – a woman with the head of a cat. In 1888 a tomb was unearthed close to the town of Beni Hasan which contained over 80,000 mummified carcasses of cats and kittens, with the remains weighing in at around 20 tonnes! This proves just how respected the humble cat was in Egyptian culture.

For the standard guest to see an African wild cat in the wild is rare, but the students at Bushwise have the opportunity to see them on occasion in the Makalali Private Game Reserve. Recently I was also fortunate enough to come across one for the first time. This particular African wild cat was resting in a marula tree, perhaps trying to emulate its more illustrious cousin, the leopard. The reasons behind its choice to scale the tree will never be known, but tracks around the base of the tree suggested that a predator was to blame. Caracal tracks dotted the sand close to the trunk, inferring that the lightweight wild cat sought refuge from its pursuer in the treetops. Its lofty position allowed for some great shots as she nervously watched me from the safety of her arboreal haven.

It was once again a great example of not knowing what is going to be around the next corner, and that a career in field guiding is an adventure that lasts a lifetime!

See more at: http://africageographic.com/blog/closer-look-african-wild-cat/#sthash.jY1pq8Yb.dpuf

The Yomiuri Shimbun, February 18, 2016

The Environment Ministry plans to expand the range of Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park to include the entirety of Iriomotejima island, a total of about 29,000 hectares, according to sources. The park currently comprises parts of Iriomotejima island and other areas in Okinawa Prefecture. The ministry will decide on the policy in its Central Environment Council soon and announce it in an official journal around late March.

Currently, one-third of Iriomotejima, or about 10,800 hectares, is designated as the national park. By expanding the area, the ministry intends to strengthen its protection of rare animals, including Iriomote wild cats (see below), an endangered species designated as a special natural treasure, and preserve the original ecosystem on Iriomotejima.

The government aims to have the Amami-Ryukyu region, including Iriometejima, registered as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site. Making the whole island a national park is also meant to promote that effort, the sources said.
According to the ministry, the island’s special protection district will be expanded to about 4,600 hectares from the current about 1,800 hectares. Even taking home fallen leaves is prohibited in this area. The ministry also plans to designate about 14,600 hectares, or about half of the island, as a class 1 special district where building construction is not allowed in principle.

There are five grades of regulation in national parks’ land areas. Regulations are strictest in special protection districts, followed by class 1, class 2 and class 3 special districts. Regulations in ordinary districts are the most loosely enforced.

Iriomote wild cats are wild cats that live only on Iriomotejima island. Adults are about 60 centimeters long, weigh three to five kilograms and eat such animals as lizards, frogs and prawns. About 100 cats are estimated to live on Iriomotejima. They are designated as a class-1A endangered species, which faces the highest danger of extinction.