WILD CAT

SCOTTISH WILDCAT

The wild cat lived once all over Britain in prehistoric times. Since the country was covered with forest it had a huge habitat. Nowadays, with mankind spreading and cutting down woodland they are very restricted and their number reduced drastically. Furthermore, the gamekeepers are no friends of them because they do cause damage to wildlife, especially bird's nests.

Today, they are only to be found in the Scottish Highlands. It is thought that there are no more than 400 cats left in Scotland.

The Wild Cat (Felis sylvestris) is 36 in or 90 cm from head to body long. The tail is 12 in or 30 cm long. The male weighs 6-9 kg and the female 6-7 kg. The Scottish wild cat is the largest of the wild cats. The colour is black and yellow-grey striped like the domestic tabby cat. The tail is black ringed with a rounded tip. Their coat looks ruffled because it has a soft underlay to keep them warm and a top layer to keep them dry.

SCOTTISH BABY WILD CAT

They usual rest during the day on tress, rocks or in thicket. They hunt at night. Their diet is rabbits, mountain hares, small rodent and birds. They well equipped with eighteen razor sharp retractable claws and rotating wrists which enables then to hold the prey and climb trees. Their powerful thigh muscles enable them to a speed of 30 mph. These muscles give them a chance to fall from the highest tree without any harm.

They mate in mid-winter from January to March and the female gives birth from April to May of 3 to 4 kittens. The mother raises them by herself.

The Scottish wild cats are related to the wild cats in Europe but it is bigger and more camouflaged and has a bigger territory.

The Scottish wild cat is very hard to see because it avoids any contact with humans. It has a solitary live and a territory of about 3 sqkm. It is known that the Scottish wild cat is untameable even if reared in captivity

It is thought that in the Near East about 10,000 years ago some wild cats began to be domesticated. The beginning of Agriculture might have had an impact on it. The reason was that grain was stored which attracted rodents and that lured cats to human settlements.

The FERAL CAT is a domestic cat which has turned wild again. They then live in small colonies of 15 animals and mostly in the grounds of hospitals, factories or city squares. In Scotland some have interbred with wild cats.

Fossils of cats had been found 4ft long and it is assumed their weight was 14 kg.

The wild cats from Europe, western part of Asia and Africa are smaller species. It adapted to too many habitats such as savannah, open forest and steppe. Their fur is medium brown with black stripes. The African species are smaller and light-brown in colour.

AFRICAN WILD CAT

AFRICAN WILD CAT