PICTURES: Wildcat kittens born at field centre in the Highlands
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Two wildcat kittens have been born at a centre near Beauly as part of a breeding project to save the species.
The new additions at Aigas Field Centre are the latest members of its conservation breeding programme which has been running since 2011.
A spokeswoman for the centre said: “We are overjoyed to announce the arrival of two wildcat kittens.
"The newest members of the Aigas Wildcat Conservation Breeding Programme will be joining the 10 adult cats that the field centre already hold.
“Through this difficult time, the arrival of the kittens has uplifted the staff and guests at the field centre. Our rangers and academic placement students have worked exceptionally hard to provide our wildcats, through rain and shine, with an incredibly high standard of care. We are thrilled that their efforts have been rewarded by the birth of these two very happy and healthy kittens.
“The two kittens were born to second-time mother, Brora, who gave birth to one male kitten, Beinn, last year. Beinn is due to be relocated to Devon to play his part in the nationwide breeding programme later this year.
"We believe the kittens to have been born around the end of June, with our first glimpses of the pair leaving their den box in the middle of July. Since then, the kittens have become more adventurous and have been seen out with mother, Brora, playing and suckling in the sunshine. We are currently waiting on confirmation of the sex of our kittens and will be naming them once we have received this information.
“During their early stages of life, wildcat kittens have bright blue eyes which slowly turn to a yellow gold colour as they mature. Further to this, their coats change into adult pelage and they begin to look more like their parents. The kittens will develop the classic thick, blunt-ended, black-tipped tail, typical of a wildcat.
“The wildcat in Scotland is now considered functionally extinct in the wild. Individuals left in the wild are too spread out to maintain a viable population.
"The main threats are habitat loss and hybridisation between wildcat and domestic/feral cats, which causes the wildcat genes to become diluted. The future of the wildcat in Scotland is very much dependent on addressing these threats and to produce genetically diverse and strong individuals in captivity that are suitable for release into the wild. The work of the nationwide breeding programme is therefore vital to secure the wildcat’s future.
"At Aigas, the work we do with wildcats is not funded by the government, and instead is reliant solely on donations. We have set up an adoption scheme and have a donation platform to help us to raise the funds needed to pay for our wildcats’ husbandry."
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