Rare wildcat kittens born during coronavirus lockdown at field centre in the Highlands
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A trio of rare wildcat kittens have been born during lockdown 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.
Ben Jones, staff naturalist at the centre, said two kittens were born to second-time mother, Glynis, who gave birth to two female kittens last year.
while the third kitten was born to first time mother, Brora.
"We believe the kittens were born around May 18 though we only saw them for the first time a few weeks ago as they emerged from their dens for the first time," he said.
"Since then, they have been growing in confidence.
"We have yet to confirm the sex of the kittens and will be naming them once we do.
"At this age the kittens have more markings than their parents but this will change as they get older and develop adult pelage which will include a thick bushy blunt ended, black tipped tail."
The wildcat in Scotland is now considered functionally extinct in the wild.
"There are just too few spread over too large an area which makes breeding programmes such as ours vital to their conservation," Mr Jones said.
The centre, which does not receive government funding for its work with wildcats has set up an adoption scheme and crowdfunding page to help raise funds to pay for looking after them. More information can be found at Wildcat breeding project
"In the future we hope to see the wildcats bred at Aigas go back into suitable locations across Britain and thrive," Mr Jones said.
"Threats these fierce predators face are still present and need to be addressed before they can be released.
“Hybridisation with domestic feral cats has been causing the wildcat to disappear through genetic dilution.
"The wildcat in Scotland has effectively been fading away before our eyes.
"Hybridisation in this case is a symptom of the historic intensive persecution this animal has faced in Britain alongside the declining health of our natural environment."
He said the future of the wildcat in Scotland was dependent on two main objectives.
"The first is to breed a genetically strong and diverse captive population ready for release," he said. "The second is to address the threats released into healthy heartlands from where they can begin to build up a strong population in the wild.
"Hopefully by focusing effort in a select few areas across the country wildcats can be released into healthy heartlands from where they can begin to build up a strong population in the wild."
Aigas currently has 11 wildcats in its conservation breeding programme while there were over 100 wildcats in a nationwide breeding programme at the end of last year.
Like all tourism businesses in the Highlands and across the UK, the field centre has been closed to guests and its live-in staff have isolated on the estate during lockdown.
"Our team of rangers have gone out of their way to maintain the high standard of care for our wildcats during such a difficult time," Mr Jones added.
"We are delighted to see all their hard work rewarded."
