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Extinction of the Scottish Wild Cat (1 Viewer)

Mysticete

Mysticete

Well-known member
United States
Figured due to the number of Brits here this would be of interest:


Effectively domestic cat have genetically swamped out "pure" Scottish Wild Cats, with about 75% of the DNA of the living so-called wildcat DNA being domestic, compared to historical and archaeological material, which shows no evidence of interbreeding.

Here is the original scientific paper for those interested in it

 
Interesting reads. The two main wildcat restoration groups in Scotland are almost at war with one another over strategy, this is alluded to in the Science article. This paper might add to the arguments!

The idea touted in the paper that one could breed a cat that had all the right "Scottish Wildcat" genes but also has disease resistant of domestic cats seems like it is straying into "Mammoth resurrection" territory.
 
I mean, how truly genetically distinct is the Scottish Wild cat from wild cats on the mainland. Kind of feels like it would be better to just introduce mainland animals than try to genetically recreate something only accorded subspecies status.

Although its all a moot point anyway, since I am not sure how you would keep the existing wild cats and feral domestics from breeding with your reintroduced animals. Which would then bring you back to square one
 
Our (few) Wild Cats kill domestic cats that enter their territories. The same must have happened in Scotland in the past when they met.

Probably the difference is that Scottisch Cats who want to find a mate have nowhere to go, while our cats move to Germany and Belgium. Then, when the numbers of Wild Cats get very low, it makes sense that there was interbreeding in Scotland. Still, why didn't the Wild Cats go to the south? Is the landscape that hostile to cats so they can't escape the Highlands?

The Great Britain population became isolated from the continental population about 8000 years ago. That's not enough to call it a separate subspecies but it's close. Therefore, introducing European Wild Cats is not a good idea, unless it's the only way to prevent extinction.

Like we did with our Black Grouse. About twelve years ago there were 2 males and a few females left in one isolated area (a few forested hills with heath surrounded by factory farms) in the Netherlands. The last populations of this subspecies, Lyrurus (or Tetrao) tetrix brittannicus (the debate goes on), in Germany and Belgium were very small and too far away. Introducing birds from England, from the same subspecies was not allowed because of the low numbers there, so we had to work with birds from Sweden, from a different subspecies. As as result, the genetic diversity was dramatically enhanced (a reset to 60 years earlier) but the original subspecies was extinct. And you never get that back unless England can miss 500 Brittannicus birds over the next 10 years.
 
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TheBlackGrouse said:
Our (few) Wild Cats kill domestic cats that enter their territories. The same must have happened in Scotland in the past when they met.

Probably the difference is that Scottisch Cats who want to find a mate have nowhere to go, while our cats move to Germany and Belgium. Then, when the numbers of Wild Cats get very low, it makes sense that there was interbreeding in Scotland. Still, why didn't the Wild Cats go to the south? Is the landscape that hostile to cats so they can't escape the Highlands?

The Great Britain population became isolated from the continental population about 8000 years ago. That's not enough to call it a separate subspecies but it's close. Therefore, introducing European Wild Cats is not a good idea, unless it's the only way to prevent extinction.

Like we did with our Black Grouse. About twelve years ago there were 2 males and a few females left in one isolated area (a few forested hills with heath surrounded by factory farms) in the Netherlands. The last populations of this subspecies, Lyrurus (or Tetrao) tetrix brittannicus (the debate goes on), in Germany and Belgium were very small and too far away. Introducing birds from England, from the same subspecies was not allowed because of the low numbers there, so we had to work with birds from Sweden, from a different subspecies. As as result, the genetic diversity was dramatically enhanced (a reset to 60 years earlier) but the original subspecies was extinct. And you never get that back unless England can miss 500 Brittannicus birds over the next 10 years.
Click to expand...
Black Grouse is rather rare in England and I doubt they could spare 500 birds. It is less uncommon in Scotland but still declining.

The persecution of predators in Scotland in the 19th and 20th centuries was at unreal levels. This is why the Wildcat became so rare and vulnerable to genetic swamping by domestic cats.

An infamous example is the Glengarry Estate where in 3 years in the 19th Century they recorded killing (among others) 198 wildcats, 246 pine martens, 106 polecats, 78 domestic cats.

They also recorded killing 27 White-tailed Eagles, 15 Golden Eagles, 3 Honey Buzzards, 18 Ospreys, 63 Goshawks, 285 Common Buzzards, 371 Rough-legged Buzzards!, 83 Hen Harriers, 5 Marsh Harriers, 98 “blue hawks” (Peregrine?), 7 orange-legged falcons , 275 kites, 11 Hobbies, 78 Merlins, 6 Gyrfalcons, 462 Kestrels, 35 “horned” owls (LEO) and 71 “fern owls” (SEO?).

Some of these will be misidentified but that level of killing was sustained for decades and on almost every estate in Scotland.

David
 
david kelly said:
Black Grouse is rather rare in England and I doubt they could spare 500 birds. It is less uncommon in Scotland but still declining.

The persecution of predators in Scotland in the 19th and 20th centuries was at unreal levels. This is why the Wildcat became so rare and vulnerable to genetic swamping by domestic cats.

(...) David
Click to expand...

Still, it puzzles me, we have only a few Wild Cats (25?) in the Netherlands, they kill domestic cats and/or chase them. For comparison, we probably have 1.5 million feral cats in our nature so they meet constantly.

Our foresters are happy with the Wild Cats because they have large territories and they keep the escaped domestic cats away, good for all sorts of little animals.

Here, low numbers of Wild Cats are not the reason for interbreeding, so why did Scottisch Wild Cats mix with domestic cats?

If there is an answer, it might be possible to save the Scottish Wild Cat.
 
Mono said:
The paper linked in the first post suggests that not only were Scottish Wildcats in very low numbers but that once hybridisation had begun the hybrids enjoyed increased disease resistance over the pure Wildcats.
Click to expand...

Normally it's the other way around, hybrids are not very healthy and can't reproduce.

This makes sense, the young hybrid cats were resistant while the few original Wild Cats were not healthy. One incident leads to another, hybrids may visit farms more often (being not afraid of humans), with low numbers it can go fast.
 
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TheBlackGrouse said:
Normally it's the other way around, hybrids are not very healthy and can't reproduce.

This makes sense, the young hybrid cats were resistant while the few original Wild Cats were not healthy. One incident leads to another, hybrids may visit farms more often, with low numbers it can go fast.
Click to expand...


Health and reproduction might not be coupled in hybrids, hybrid vigor is a thing:

Heterosis - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
TheBlackGrouse said:
Still, it puzzles me, we have only a few Wild Cats (25?) in the Netherlands, they kill domestic cats and/or chase them. For comparison, we probably have 1.5 million feral cats in our nature so they meet constantly.

Our foresters are happy with the Wild Cats because they have large territories and they keep the escaped domestic cats away, good for all sorts of little animals.

Here, low numbers of Wild Cats are not the reason for interbreeding, so why did Scottisch Wild Cats mix with domestic cats?

If there is an answer, it might be possible to save the Scottish Wild Cat.
Click to expand...
In addition to the other replies, I would add two factors:

1. Isolation the Scottish wildcats were a relict population wth no neighbouring populations so there was no opportunity to walk to another population to find a mate.

2. Low density, there were just not that many wildcats to mate with.

David
 
david kelly said:
In addition to the other replies, I would add two factors:

1. Isolation the Scottish wildcats were a relict population wth no neighbouring populations so there was no opportunity to walk to another population to find a mate.

2. Low density, there were just not that many wildcats to mate with.

David
Click to expand...

Low density is no problem here in the Netherlands, we have more or less 25 Wild Cats and they kill escaped domestic cats. But since the Wild Cats of Scotland are separated from the main land for thousands of years they may behave differently.

Our Dutch cats can walk through forests to the Eifel uplands and the Ardennes, areas with populations of Wild Cats. They don't ''know'' that there are other cats 100 km away, they simply move to find a mate. My idea was that maybe there is no suitable landscape for migrating cats south of the Highlands. In that case they can't leave and then it's a different story.
 
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TheBlackGrouse said:
Low density is no problem here in the Netherlands, we have more or less 25 Wild Cats and they kill escaped domestic cats. But since the Wild Cats of Scotland are separated from the main land for thousands of years they may behave differently.

Our Dutch cats can walk through forests to the Eifel uplands and the Ardennes, areas with populations of Wild Cats. They don't ''know'' that there are other cats 100 km away, they simply move to find a mate. My idea was that maybe there is no suitable landscape for migrating cats south of the Highlands. In that case they can't leave and then it's a different story.
Click to expand...
There are no Wildcats anywhere else on this island.

David
 
david kelly said:
There are no Wildcats anywhere else on this island.

David
Click to expand...
Is that the reason why they stayed in the Highlands?

How could they possibly know that there were no other populations in England?

This is a serious question, can their instinct tell them the others have gone extinct? Wild Cats in the Highlands could not follow any trail to non-existent populations. I think they simply move to find a mate when numbers are too low. But if the landscape is hostile they can't leave and then there is a second option in a farm nearby.
 
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TheBlackGrouse said:
Is that the reason why they stayed in the Highlands?

How could they possibly know that there were no other populations in England?

This is a serious question, can their instinct tell them the others have gone extinct? Wild Cats in the Highlands could not follow any trail to non-existent populations. I think they simply move to find a mate when numbers are too low. But if the landscape is hostile they can't leave and then there is a second option in a farm nearby.
Click to expand...
They were not given legal protection until 1988. Illegal persecution continued, the game fraternity are not exactly known for their strict adherence to the law when it comes to predators. Cats which moved away from safe areas were unlikely to survive for long.

Domestic cat populations, and resulting feral cat populations, also increased at this time. If there is not a pure wildcat to breed with, then hello Tibbles.

I think that continental wildcats should be used to boost the population in a sanctuary area where the numbers of domestic and feral cats is controlled. The population should be able to spread from there.

Hybridisation does occur in Europe but at a lower level than in Scotland.

link.springer.com

Range-wide patterns of human-mediated hybridisation in European wildcats - Conservation Genetics

Hybridisation between wild taxa and their domestic congeners is a significant conservation issue. Domestic species frequently outnumber their wild relatives in population size and distribution and may therefore genetically swamp the native species. The European wildcat (Felis silvestris) has...
link.springer.com link.springer.com

David
 
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TheBlackGrouse said:
Is that the reason why they stayed in the Highlands?

How could they possibly know that there were no other populations in England?

This is a serious question, can their instinct tell them the others have gone extinct? Wild Cats in the Highlands could not follow any trail to non-existent populations. I think they simply move to find a mate when numbers are too low. But if the landscape is hostile they can't leave and then there is a second option in a farm nearby.
Click to expand...
It wouldn't matter...if the wild cats strayed farther away, they would only find domestics, and domestic cats would be the only mating option
 
Mysticete said:
It wouldn't matter...if the wild cats strayed farther away, they would only find domestics, and domestic cats would be the only mating option
Click to expand...
Maybe, Wild Cats were extinct in the Netherlands but some individuals came from the Eifel and started a new (albeit very small) population. In 2014 young cats were born, the first since ages. They are a protected species now and slowly the number of territories is rising.

It is possible that the persecution on the British Isles was more extreme than on the main land. Being an island doesn't help too. Even in Western Europe there were some mountainous areas were a few cats could survive in the past.
 
Having spent much of the last 20+ years being paid to get rid of feral cats, I'm no lover of feral cats. Obviously its a shame to lose the pure Scottish Wildcat, as it was to lose wildcats all over Britain, but ecologically are feral cats not just filling the same niche? If these feral cats are living in the same remote areas as the last wildcats they're presumably under the same population pressures as the wildcats were, unlike pet cats?
 

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