Highland Wildlife Park's new breeding and release centre welcomes first wildcat
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Efforts to save the Scottish wildcat from extinction have taken a major step forward.
The first cat has now been introduced to the Saving Wildcats conservation breeding for release centre at the Highland Wildlife Park by Kincraig.
Nell, a young female, arrived from Alladale Wilderness Reserve earlier this month and has settled well into the off-show centre.
It provides breeding space, veterinary care, remote monitoring and training to prepare cats for life in the wild.
It is hoped that any kittens Nell rears will be among the first cats released into the Highlands next year as part of the Saving Wildcats project to restore the critically endangered species in Scotland.
The project 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 Junta de Andalucía.
David Barclay, Saving Wildcats ex-situ conservation manager, said: “Saving Wildcats is an incredibly exciting partnership bringing together the necessary resources and expertise to save Scotland’s iconic wildcat.
“Nell is the first cat to be introduced into our breeding for release centre at Highland Wildlife Park and she has settled well into her new surroundings.
“A further 15 cats will be arriving at the centre in the coming weeks, giving us a healthy, genetically diverse population to breed from.
"Offspring will then be transferred to larger pre-release enclosures as they mature where they will undergo a dedicated training programme to prepare them for life in the wild.
"We hope the first cats will be ready to be introduced into a site in the Highlands next year.”
The BBC's The One Show cameras were there to capture the moment Nell arrived at her new home with the footage going out in last night's show.
It is hoped more cats will be introduced into the breeding for release centre in the coming months.
Donations to help save Scotland’s wildcats can be made at savingwildcats.org.uk
