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A significant problem with Scottish wildcat conservation is that we know very little about their population size or distribution; it is estimated that around 400 pure wildcats and 3000 hybrid wildcats live in the Highlands north of the industrial belt formed by Glasgow and Edinburgh.
An SNH population survey is currently underway to try and establish more accurate information on numbers and locations so that conservation efforts can be focused on the best areas. Previous research has utilised eye witness reports of wildcats to build general ideas of where populations exist and thanks to the Internet we can now do this on a nationwide basis.
If you have seen a wildcat in the last few years, can describe it in detail or supply a picture and give us an accurate location of the sighting we'd really like to hear from you.
Please e-mail; sightings@scottishwildcats.co.uk. Include as much information and details about the sighting as possible; it's also important to point out that sightings of hybrids or Kellas Cats are also very useful; their presence indicates wildcat genes, and possible pure examples, in the vicinity. Your personal details will be kept confidentially by us, however details about the actual sighting will be available to the reputable scientific community on request. You can start learning how to identify a pure wildcat from a hybrid or domestic on our wildcat identification page.
We started collecting sightings in March 2007 and are grading each sighting according to information provided measured against Dr Andrew Kitcheners notes on identification from coat markings and appearance. A "possible wildcat" indicates a very descriptive or confident sighting of a wildcat, a "hybrid" is usually based on photographic evidence revealing an obviously hybridised cat and "inconclusive evidence" indicates a vague or uncertain report. Wildcats reported south of the Glasgow/Edinburgh industrial belt defy current scientific generalisations, but whilst it is hard for wildcats to get past the barrier it is not impossible so those sightings are treated as any other. Keep in mind that Clusters of sightings around the Cairngorms and Glasgow do not necessarily indicate the healthiest populations, these are areas of high human population so sightings will naturally be more common than in the more sparsely populated west and north.
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