The species is highly endangered, as wild cats have interbred with domestic cats.
Tomi Pyy,
Viivi Koivistoinen
Scientists are planning to revive the endangered Scottish wildcat, says a British newspaper The Guardian.
The Scottish wild cat, also known as the highland tiger, is highly endangered because it has bred heavily with the domestic cat, which is kept as a pet.
The researchers’ plan is to identify and separate the domestic cat’s DNA from wild cats.
– We have animals with a mixture of two sets of genes. Now we want to separate these series from each other and revive Scotland’s original wild cat population, says the project manager Dan Lawson from the University of Bristol.
Accurate DNA maps are created from individual animals, which can be used to find those animals with a lot of wild cat genes.
After the survey, the selected individuals are crossed with cats of similar genetics, in order to create a new strain where the influence of the country cat is minimal.
Achieving a perfect legacy takes time
As part of the project, 19 Scottish wildcats were released back into the wild this summer from zoos and nature reserves. The cats were put down in the Cairngorms National Park, the largest national park in Britain. The aim is to release 40 more cats over the next three years.
Freed cats are fitted with GPS collars, which are used to track their movements. It is particularly important for the project to keep the Scottish wildcats and the feral domestic cats moving in nature separate from each other, so that they do not breed with each other.
Director of the Saving Wildcats program by Helena Parsons One hundred cameras have been installed in Scotland’s wild cat release area.
– Every time we see a cat, we try to find out if it is a domestic animal. If so, we will try to track down its owner and ask if it has been spayed. If it is feral, we try to find and sterilize it, says Parson.
However, it will take time to restore the full pedigree of the Scottish wildcat. According to Lawson’s estimate, it takes ten to twenty generations to breed and breed wild cats.
The stock is eventually to be returned to the Scottish countryside.