Scottish Wildcats Being Reintroduced to the Highlands to Help Fight Extinction

Scottish wildcats arrived after the last ice age; these wildcats were once prevalent across northern parts of the UK mainland and Wales. After 10,000 years of isolation, they are now genetically distinct from European populations. However, their numbers have plunged due to habitat loss, disease, human persecution, interbreeding and road deaths. Scottish conservationists have reported their Scottish wildcats are on the verge of extinction as there are approximately 30 left in the wild. Ecologists have fortunately devised a way to revive their numbers, so this species of cats will not be entirely extinct. They are currently breeding the felines in a captive and release program, and will reintroduce them to the Highlands of Cairngorms National Park- their former breeding homes. The project is led by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and will have a funding of 3.2 million pounds over six years, commencing in 2022. At the reintroduction center located in the Highlands Wildlife Park at Kincraig, the cats will be bred and conditioned freely in a remote area from human intervention. The aim is to release at least 60 wildcats from this shelter. The number may seem low; however, for the cats to freely multiply and thrive, […]

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