Native Wild Cats Uk

The Scottish wildcat is a European wildcat population in Scotland.

Native wild cats uk. These predators are not domestic cats which have become feral. They arrived by themselves back when Britain was still connected to the continent by a land bridge up until around 8000 years ago. Of the 40 wild cat species only the lion typically lives and hunts in groups.

According to media reports mysterious big cats have been seen all over Britain including in Staffordshire Lincolnshire Devon Fife and Hertfordshire. The Scottish wildcat was once widely distributed across Great Britain but the population has declined drastically since the turn of the 20th. Remains of these wildcats have been found at.

They were last seen in England around 1800 and can now only be found in the wilds of Scotland hence their alternative name the Scottish wildcat. The Chausie and the Bengal. Domestic cats Felis catus are the most abundant carnivores in Great Britain and their numbers appear to be growing.

CLAIMS of big cats roaming wild in the British countryside are on the rise with the Beast of Exmoor just the latest in a long line of sightings. The lynx an original native of the British Isles is a wild cat that has been forced out of much of Western Europe by habitat destruction and human persecution over the last 2000 years. Theres little doubt that Britain has occasionally been home to wild big cats if only for brief periods.

A number of exotic breeds are being hybridised with domestic cats to create wild-looking pets with docile temperaments eg. Wild cats are solitary territorial animals. Most wild cat species are proficient climbers often entering the trees either to rest hunt or to seek refuge from predators.

Europe is a continent bordered by the Arctic Ocean Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Britain has only one species of native cat the European wildcat. The Wild Cat Felis silvestris is Britains only wild member of the cat family and bears a close resemblance to the domestic tabby cat.