WATCH: Hopes that Highland love cats will boost survival of one of UK's rarest mammals
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Sixteen wildcats are being paired up for the first ever breeding season in the Saving Wildcats conservation breeding for release centre at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s Highland Wildlife Park.
The European partnership project is working to restore Scotland’s critically endangered wildcat population by breeding and releasing them into the wild.
Kittens from this season, which could be born as early as spring, will be among the first to be released in 2023.
David Barclay, Saving Wildcats conservation manager, said: “It is fantastic to be getting ready for our first breeding season in the centre, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
"Several cats are now paired and settled and we’re already seeing really encouraging mating behaviours.
"Our expert keepers have done an amazing job at preparing our enclosures and introducing the cats, giving them the best chance at breeding success.
“Wildcats are Scotland's most iconic animal but also one of our most endangered. Without future releases, the wildcat’s days in Scotland are numbered.
“Once widespread in Britain, habitat loss, hunting and inter-breeding with domestic cats have all taken their toll, leaving this incredible species on the verge of extinction.
"We are hopeful that kittens born around April to May will be among the first released into carefully selected locations in the Cairngorms.
“The Saving Wildcats partnership project is the last hope for this species in Scotland.”
Sixteen cats are now in the conservation breeding for release centre and are being paired ahead of the breeding season: Fruin and Beanie, Droma and Arran, Cranachan and Margaret, Embo and Torr, Nell and Con, Tulla and Ordie, Oscar and Caol Ila, Rannoch and Fearn
Last month, Saving Wildcats launched its very first sponsorship programme.
Starting from £5 per month, sponsors will help care for wildcats in the centre and prepare their kittens for release into the Scottish wilderness.
More information about Droma, Cranachan, Fruin, the three cats which can be sponsored can be found at savingwildcats.org.uk/sponsorwildcats.
Saving Wildcats (#SWAforLIFE) is led by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland in collaboration with NatureScot, Forestry and Land Scotland, The Cairngorms National Park Authority, Norden’s Ark and Consejería de Medio Ambiente y Ordenación del Territorio de la Junta de Andalucía.
The six-year project is supported by £3.2 million of EU funding and co-funded by Scotland’s nature agency NatureScot, the Scottish Government’s zoo and aquarium conservation fund and a wide variety of other partners.
