Scottish wildcat, Felis silvestris grampia
A captive animal photographed in an enclosure in the West Country Wildlife Photography Centre, near Launceston, Cornwall. This kitten was part of a successful captive breeding programme that wis aimed at re-introduction and bolstering the wild population of Wildcats, which is now limited to northern and eastern Scotland. The Scottish wildcat is a Critically Endangered species and as well as habitat loss and persecution, the species is threatened by hybridization with domestic cats. A camera trapping survey between 2010 and 2013 in the Scottish Highlands found that wildcats live mostly in mixed woodlands. This image was taken from a low angle through the undergrowth as the kitten was very wary and did not emerge very far from the safety of the trees.
Size: 5568px × 3712px
Location: West Country Wildlife Photography Centre, Cornwall
Photo credit: © David Pike / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1981, act, action, barred, black-tipped, bushy, captive, carnivore, cat, cat-sith, conservation, countryside, dilution, domestic, edge, felis, forest, gene, grampia, habitat, hunter, interbreeding, kellas, large, largely, legged, leggs, limbs, long, loss, mammal, mixed, nocturnal, pattern, persecution, plan, pool, predator, proetcted, scottish, shrubland, silvestris, stealth, striped, tabby, tail, territores, territorial, thick, undergrowth, wild, wildcat, wildife, wildlife, wooded, woodland
