A RARE Scottish wildcat has arrived at the Saving Wildcats conservation breeding for release centre, as efforts to save the feline from extinction take a major step forward.
Nell, a young female, arrived from Alladale Wilderness Reserve earlier this month and has settled well into the off-show centre, which provides breeding space, veterinary care, remote monitoring and training to prepare cats for life in the wild.
PURRfect news... we’re delighted to have welcomed our first resident to our #conservation breeding for release centre!
— Saving Wildcats (#SWAforLIFE) (@SaveOurWildcats) March 16, 2021
Nell, a young female #wildcat, joined us from Alladale Wilderness Reserve and has settled well in her new home 😻
Find out more ➡️ https://t.co/BMzc0TXTMi pic.twitter.com/omnZfLHnwW
It is hoped that any kittens Nell rears will be among the first cats released into the Scottish Highlands next year as part of the Saving Wildcats project to restore the critically endangered species in Scotland.
The project is led by RZSS in collaboration with NatureScot, Forestry and Land Scotland, the Cairngorms National Park Authority, Norden’s Ark and Junta de Andalucía.
READ MORE: Rare Scottish wildcat kitten saved from 'death's door' after rescuer mistakes it for domestic cat
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.
✨We are Saving Wildcats✨
— Saving Wildcats (#SWAforLIFE) (@SaveOurWildcats) August 20, 2020
A new partnership building on the work of Scottish Wildcat Action with national + international expertise😺
Together we can secure the future of wildcats in Scotland by breeding + releasing them into the wild.
This is the Highland tiger's last hope💚 pic.twitter.com/C9UvJSZgvU
“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 Scottish Highlands in 2022.”
Donations to help save Scotland’s wildcats can be made at savingwildcats.org.uk
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