Video footage from Aberdeenshire has led to speculation that Scottish wildcats may survive in Eastern areas where experts previously thought they had gone extinct, or bred with local feral cats.

Wildcat Haven, a decade-long conservation project for Scottish wildcats which conducts most of its work in the West Highlands, has unveiled what it claims is the first ever video evidence of a pure wildcat, filmed in Aberdeenshire.

Wildcat Haven said most experts considered the wildcat extinct in the East Highlands - lost to hybridisation with domestic cats. The wildcat project said Scottish Natural Heritage, which is involved with Scottish Wildcat Action (a separate conservation project, which also has input from the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and other wildlife and gamekeepers’ groups) has failed to find any cat not showing signs of hybridisation.

Scottish Wildcat Action, however, responded that the cat in the video looks remarkably like one of ten wildcats it claims to have identified in the region. In the past there has been claim and counter-claim made between the two conservation groups, each of which disagrees with the others’ methods.

Wildcats are seriously threatened in Britain, with only a few dozen thought to be hanging on in Scotland’s highlands.

Wildcat Haven’s Kevin Bell captured the footage whilst responding to eyewitness sightings of wildcats in the East Highlands; he was conducting a survey which he said confirmed a small population of very high purity wildcats. The cat caught in the video is the first living wildcat to score full marks on a 21-point scale used to identify wildcat purity, according to Wildcat Haven, who said their video evidence had been verified by an independent expert at the National Museums of Scotland.

However, Dr Andrew Kitchener, Principal Curator of Vertebrate Biology at National Museums Scotland (another partner in the Scottish Wildcat Action Group) said genetics testing would be needed to confirm the purity of the wildcat seen in the footage. Dr Kitchener, who National Museums of Scotland confirmed had verified the sighting for Wildcat Haven, told Farming Online, “Wildcat Haven approached me to comment on this video footage, which shows one cat in the wild. The animal displays a number of characteristics of the Scottish wildcat, however not all of the characteristics which are used to identify the Scottish wildcat are visible in the video.

“Furthermore, genetic testing is required to determine the purity of a Scottish wildcat, and genetic testing has not been carried out on this particular animal. While the cat in this video shows a high number of characteristics of the Scottish wildcat, there is not yet sufficient evidence to fully determine its purity. Since the video shows one cat, it is also not sufficient evidence of a ‘population’ of pure Scottish wildcats.’”

Nevertheless, Dr Paul O'Donoghue, Chief Scientific Advisor for Wildcat Haven, said, “We’ve been closely monitoring key sites in Aberdeenshire over the last couple of years having picked up good accounts of an isolated population in the area. SNH have already spent a huge sum of money carrying out survey work in the region turning up little of real value, but Kev went out with just three camera traps and immediately started returning images of these stunning cats.

“It feels a bit like looking at a unicorn,” O'Donoghue said of the video. “This animal is so often described as extinct, bordering on mythical, but we have always been confident they're still out there, and here's the evidence coming from quite an unexpected place. No one has ever seen a wildcat this good in the wild before, it shows no signs of hybridisation and proves that Scotland’s iconic wildcat, an incredible survivor, is still out there despite all odds. We must protect it from the threat of hybridisation, but also from the government action plan; licensed to capture wildcats for a captive breeding program which has a dismal track record of producing hybridised and neutered display animals.’’

Wildcat Action was already aware of wildcats in the area

Also commenting on the sighting, a spokesperson for SNH-backed Scottish Wildcat Action said, “The [statement] from Wildcat Haven is misleading. Scottish Wildcat Action has already been working with the local community in its Strathbogie ‘Priority Area’ for over two years. Therefore this latest claim is certainly not news to Scottish Wildcat Action, our team of professional, dedicated and hard-working Project Officers, and the many partner organisations we work with.
 
“In autumn last year we detected 27 cats, six of which were identified as wildcat based on their pelage scores [the 21-point scale]. These cats were found in our Strathbogie wildcat priority area in Aberdeenshire.This information was publicly announced in September 2016 and was reported in the media. Since then a further four wildcats have been discovered in the area, taking the total of known wildcats to 10.”
 
The spokesperson said, “The wildcat shown in this ‘new’ video is extremely similar to one we have already identified.And in addition our partners from Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit detected wildcats back in 2011.”
 
Wildcat Haven has criticised Scottish Wildcat Action for its involvement in plans to breed wildcats in captivity, which involves trapping cats living in the wild, working with RZSS, which runs zoos in Scotland, but the Wildcat Action spokesperson defended the scheme, saying,“In addition to our extensive field work we feel it’s vital that we have the support of the Scottish wildcat conservation breeding programme and studbook through RZSS. This is another important conservation tool available to Scottish Wildcat Action and one that may be needed if we are to save the species from extinction.”
 
The Scottish Wildcat Action spokesperson said, “We would like to continue to focus on conservation action work in the Strathbogie area, and land managers, gamekeepers, farmers, volunteers and members of the public have been hugely supportive of the work we are doing to save these majestic creatures and we would like to thank them for their continued support of the project. We already have a full programme of winter work planned to protect Strathbogie’s wildcats, which includes further survey work and more TNVR (Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate Return) activity.”

The spokesperson urged farmers in any priority conservation areas, who may have feral or semi-feral cats on their farms to contact the group at www.scottishwildcataction.org to arrange for cats to be neutered, giving wildcats in the area the best possible chance of survival.

Wildcat Haven said it is currently establishing its own monitoring and domestic cat neutering programme in Aberdeenshire to protect the small population of wildcats in-situ. Project manager Kevin Bell, who will be leading the group’s efforts, commented, “These ghost-cats deserve to live in the wild, not in a cage for people to gawp at. They're remote, they've stayed hidden and survived, and we'll do everything we can to ensure it stays that way. Along with the wildcats in the West Highlands havens, these are the best chance the wildcat has, out in the wild where they belong.’’

Video credit Kevin Bell/ Wildcat Haven