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. 

They first arrived in Britain at the end of the last Ice Age, over 9000 years ago, after being isolated from their cousins, the European Wild Cat. Considered a sub-species, they are larger and more heavily camouflaged than their European counterparts, although both have been subject to the same persecution. In Victorian times they were hunted so prolifically they were completely eradicated from both England and Wales. They are now found only in remote parts of The Highlands, in North West Scotland. Here, due to increase in human population and the resulting deforestation, the Scottish Wild Cat has been forced to seek out new territory, away from the threat of human beings.

Image via Wikipedia

With males weighing in at 6-8kg, the Sottish Wild Cat is around 50% larger than the average domestic cat. They feed mainly on rabbits, rodents and hares, although there have also been reports of them sneaking into farms and stealing lambs, during lambing season. They mate only once per year, in January/February, and the females raise the litters, of around one to four kittens, alone. The kittens are able to live independently from around 4-5 months, although this is sometimes extended to 10 months. Males are usually sexually mature by the age of 10 months and females by between ten and twelve months.

Conservation groups are actively working to prevent the extinction of Britain’s rarest animal and, happily, in 2007, a kitten was born to a captive female. This kitten will greatly help the chances of the Scottish Wild Cat, but only time will tell if this fascinating creature is to be saved from the same fate so many rare animals have suffered, or whether the Scottish Wild Cat will be brought back from the brink of destruction by the volunteers working so hard to save them. If you’d like to donate a small amount to help this worthy cause you can do so by visiting the following site:

http://www.scottishwildcats.co.uk/donate.html

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