The European wildcat (Felis silvestris) is a unique species of feline that, together with the Iberian lynx, represents the only two species of wild felines living in Portugal’s wilderness.
Very similar to the domesticated house cat, wildcats are a separate and much older species that evolved around 500,000 years ago. In turn, historical evidence suggests that the domestication of cats first took place 10,000 years ago in the Middle East. Ancient Egyptians continued the trend and cats have been in our houses ever since.Through centuries of selective breeding, house cats are now a species in their own right (Felis catus) and come in many different sizes and colours. But not our wildcat. Native to continental Europe and Great Britain and true to their genetic origin, wildcats show a unique and distinctive appearance that, to the untrained eye, can still just look like a large tabby cat. A large head with emerald green eyes, dark body stripes, and a thick tail with well-defined black bands and a black tip are the main recognisable features.
The favourite habitats of the European wildcat are coniferous forests (pines), deciduous forests (oaks, beeches, chestnuts) and Mediterranean shrubland. Here, preferably away from human activity, it hunts a variety of prey such as rabbits, squirrels, mice, voles, lizards and fowl. With very acute senses of smell, hearing and sight, wildcats are mainly crepuscular and nocturnal animals. Much like other wild cats, when it is not hunting, it spends its time resting. A great climber, it is perfectly comfortable high above the ground, where it often finds comfort in tree branches and snuggles up on its own incredibly dense fur.
A solitary and highly territorial animal, the wildcat will only seek the opposite sex during mating season, which is typically late autumn or winter. Litters of three to seven kittens are born during early spring.
As it happens with so many wildlife species, the loss of habitat and hunting have been a main cause for the decline in numbers. However, wildcats face an extra, perhaps more deadly, threat called hybridisation. The genetic proximity with the house cat allows interbreeding that generates fertile hybrid descendants. Hybrid specimens can perpetuate the mix-breeding cycle, diluting the wildcat genes into extinction – a phenomenon called genetic swamping.
According to the IUCN red list of threatened species, the European wildcat is not currently classed as a threatened species when considered in its full distribution. However, in some regions, such as Portugal or Scotland, its presence is very vulnerable and at critical risk of becoming locally extinct.
In Portugal, experts estimate that there could be fewer than one hundred animals scattered across the country’s forests, but the country has yet to see a conservation project that will accurately determine the size and range of the wildcats in Portugal.
Rewilding Portugal, a private non-profit organisation established in 2019, promotes nature conservation in general by allowing nature to thrive in its own time and space. By doing this, Rewilding is slowly encouraging the return of native species to their ancestral grounds. Earlier in July, a camera trap recorded the sighting of one wildcat in the Great Côa Valley (Guarda District) in an area managed by Rewilding. This was the first confirmed sighting in the region in over 30 years.
Rewilding Portugal recognises that the wildcat is critically endangered in Portugal and desperately needs a conservation programme to protect this species in the Iberian Peninsula. Rewilding has already come forward, stating that they would be happy to support any project that sterilises feral house cats in protected areas to reduce the risk of genetic swamping.
After the success with the Iberian lynx, perhaps Portugal and Spain could, once again, join forces and save another wild cat. In fact, the president of ICNF (Portuguese Forest and Nature Conservation Agency), Nuno Banza, has confirmed that they are currently considering using the CNRLI in Silves to house a breeding programme for wildcats.
In Scotland, an exciting project called Saving Wildcats is already in motion to help the so-called highland tiger, a population of European wildcats that is “clinging on by a claw”. This collaborative conservation project is supported by organisations such as the Royal Zoological Society, the National Trust and the European Rewilding Network. The ambitious effort includes breeding in captivity to secure the release of pure specimens into selected zones, the sterilisation of feral and domestic cats near conservation areas, and the promotion of responsible pet ownership. Since 2023, 28 wildcats have been released in the Cairngorms National Park and camera traps have confirmed wild-born kittens within the release areas.
Why is it so difficult to tell the two species apart? They are just very similar-looking creatures!
Fun Facts
Wildcats have incredibly thick fur with as much as 20,000 hairs per square centimetre.
Interbreeding is relatively common when closely related species co-habit, being in their natural habitats or in captivity. Hybrids are often sterile but very interesting creatures. Most of us will recognise a mule as the cross between a donkey and a horse, but look out for the liger, the wholphin, the zorse or the cama. Believe me, these are all real!!
