We lecture other countries about not annihilating predators, but what did we do? No more wolves, no more bears, no more lynx, heck, all we have is grumpy tabbies, foxes and pine martens. We could host a lot more here than we think if we kept off green land and stuck to the old brownfield sites around cities.
@Ted H. You're thinking of the Kellas cat. It's just a mix between the Scottish wildcat and house cats. The "Scottish wildcat" really just seems like a glorified domestic tabby to me, really makes me grateful that we at least have bobcats here in the US.
@@sumnimapaneru3814 where are you from and why do you disagree they don’t kill humans and they keep the balance in the natural world biodiversity or are you one of the selfish sport hunters
@@sumnimapaneru3814 Well most of those cats are domesticated and are pets for someone. And even if I see cats everywhere, wild cats are unique, and our biodiversity needs them to hold it together. Plus if we can save any animal we should, no?
Just listened to a piece on the Economist podcast this morning about the initial success that been had in releasing approximatley 40 wild cats into a nature reserve in Northern Scotland! They are doing very well and another 20 set to be released this year! Here’s to a bright future to these Wiley creatures in the whole of the UK!
My grandmother told me about wildcats she used to see in the forties when she lived in Ecclefecan Scotland. She remembered it’s dark bushy tail and it would never come close to her but just stared and hunkered down. It makes you wonder what sort of landscape supports them, but she was scared of them!
It's a misdemeanor to be a Scottish wildcat? What's the maximum sentence? Eight months in wildlife rehabilitation? XD (I think he meant "misnomer." Poor guy. He probably watched this later and went, "D'OH!" It's hard, speaking on camera.)
I doubt it, but he might have been saying that it was a metaphorical misdemeanor for the person who calls it a "Scottish" wildcat (as a joke). I seriously doubt that's what he was trying to say, though.
@@ascetic3312 Yeah, that's a bit of a stretch. ;) I bet the guy just misspoke. I'm such a pedant, I would have kicked myself for weeks. I hope he's more easygoing than I. XD
@@LadyhawksLairDotCom - You'd be kicking yourself for weeks? I'd be doing it for years, maybe for life! I already do that now -- I'll randomly remember some misstep I made during my childhood and stress myself out worrying about how stupid everyone must think I am, even though no one obviously knows what the hell I'm on about. The mind sure can be a dangerous (and dense) place, can't it?
The biggest difference for me is actually their tails, they're very racoon like with the stripes and how bushy it is in comparison to tabby's for example. Also their demeanour is very different, they act move and act a wild tiger would.
@@normanmurray3659 well I don't know about that my friend. After all I'm no expert. I just said that I personally wouldn't have known that it wasn't a domestic cat,but the people making the video say its a wildcat and I'm sure they know more than me
the lynx is not extinct lmao, also its very fitting to use misdemeanor instead of misnomer, as it is a misdemeanor to use misdemeanor in the place of misnomer, and a misnomer to use misdemeanor in the place of misnomer
The Scottish Highlanders used to hunt them to put the furs on their heads and other things. They also ate the chickens and other small animals that the farmers had.
For the life of me I can’t pick a single thing different to my new adopted cat’s appearance. He even has the fluffy tail with black rings. He’s very good at catching rats too. I know he’s not one of those, because he’s petite for a male and very affectionate.
There is a video here on how to tell them apart, look for "scottish wildcat identification" here. There are many details, but one which is obvious is the tail. In this video, look at the close up of the tail at around 4, also 6:04, maybe other places. Look at the circles and also the tip of the tail. The circles are clear with no black stripe crossing them along the top of the tail. This line - it's called the "dorsal stripe" goes along the back of the cat, but in domestic tabbies, this line continues till the end of the tail. In European wildcats it stops earlier, and the circles on the tail are not intersected. From pictures and videos I've seen even other subspecies of wildcats with somewhat different look e.g. African also have clear circles. Additionally, the tails of the domestic cats become narrower near the end. In European wildcats, it doesn't, look how bushy the tip is. The video which talked about the differences goes in more detail, but the tails seemed the most obvious difference to me.
Big W I completely agree with you on loving Scotland and it’s wildcat because you see I am part Scottish because my paternal grandfathers paternal grandmothers maiden name is Murray but I love the wildcats and like if the wildcat goes extinct it sort of takes a a piece of Scotland with it.
I witnessed what looked exactly like a Scottish lynx stalking through a field from a distance. There were horses and rabbit's around then one if this popped it's head up and down a hill in a low crawling position. Me and the wife were very lucky to see it.
How does one tell the difference between a Wild cat and a household cat, which in my case (South Africa) looks pretty much the same as these lovely ones in the video?
Hello! European wildcats are bigger, have a thicker tail, and always have the same sort of coat. A cat without those brown/grey stripes will be a feral. If your cat has the same color and markings, look for the size and tail. A quick google search gave me around 80cm length for domestic, 120cm for wild. While they do look extremely similar, our domestic cats have the African wildcat as an ancestor, not the European one. They have that thinner tail :) Hope this helped!
In order to release these beautiful creatures back into the wild the UK needs to get on top of it's feral/stray cat problem. With the chances that wild cats will breed with domesticated cats, there's no guarantee that they'll thrive in the wild and increase their population numbers. I also hope to see the Lynx returned to the wild one day.
Because it is a wild cat. That's the species name. The European Wild Cat. The domestic cats were originally domesticated from the African Wild Cat, which is another subspecies of this same species.
If these Cats can't survive in the Scottish Highlands, then how can they possibly live in the English countryside? I suspect they would only be safe on uninhabited islands off the mainland UK.
Fine video. The most beautiful species, and those whose bodies have value for their coats, tusks, hides, whatever, are, are always the first to be extirpated.💧😿💧 (No disrespect intended, but I had great difficulty keeping up with the gentleman. I'm glad the lovely young lass didn't speak as rapidly as he. Her cadence was PERFECT!) 🌠Milton Moore🌠 Las Vegas, Nevada
This is what I've read too. This applies to European wildcat in general which doesn't care for us. This is probably one of the reasons they weren't domesticated, but much friendlier African wildcats. African wildcats are bolder, friendlier, and are very easily tamed, I've read they behave like domestic cats if raised from kittenhood. European wildcats remain spitfire their lives. Fascinating how cats which are so close genetically behave so differently.
isnt the definition of a species animals that can interbreed with each other to create viable offspring? so if these cats can hybridize with regular cats, then they aren't quite a separate species but a sub species right? or would it just be a population?
It's not as clear-cut. With plants especially, you can sometimes even breed different genera, and these intergeneric hybrids themselves may sometimes even create fertile seeds. With animals, hybrids are often, but not always, less fertile or infertile (ie some crosses of tiger and lion are fertile, others are not).
Nature doesn't conform to our set definitions. Nature does what nature wants to. You can still have two different species that interbreed and produce fertile offspring, and they'll still be different. It's all based on population genetics. Sometimes, the fertile hybrids can become a third individual species over time, or introduce new, stronger selected genetics into either population, or become a third, separate population. For example, the big bird lineage of Daphne Major in the galapagos. It can get very complex, but can increase genetic diversity and biodiversity overall.
The European Wildcat and the African Wildcat are currently considered two different subspecies of the same species. House cats were domesticated from the African Wildcat.
Sorry to be a spoil sport, but the reality is that the Scottish wild cat is the same species as the domestic cat (Felis catus) . They inter mate freely with fertile offspring, and that is the problem. It is only recognised as a separate species (Felis sylvestris) due to its demographic isolation, a type of natural breeding. It is a bit like saying a breed of dog is very rare, okay, not undermine efforts to protect rare breeds be they induced or in the wild, but a dog is a dog, just as a cat is a cat.
They are subspecies, I am really not sure why they decided to call them different species. Domestic cat used to be classified as Felis Silvestris Catus - a subspecies of Felis Silvestris. I am also not clear why they decided to separate African/Asian wildcat into separate species instead of a subspecies. It seems like totally artificial separation. Still, there are differences between wildcats and domestic cats, larger differences that between breeds. For example, wildcats have larger brains, slightly longer claws and teeth and keener senses. European wildcats (and Scottish wildcat is just a type of European wildcat) aren't afraid of water, I've seen a video where an European wildcat kitten caught a fish in a stream. They are more territorial and solitary. European wildcat females only breed once a year in the Spring and keep kittens with them until fall. Also, European wildcats are untameable. African wildcats are different - bolder, friendlier and behave like domestic cats if raised from kittenhood. This is what I read, anyway. So I believe the differences are larger than with domestic cat breeds, but at the same time, in my completely ignorant opinion, they should be the same species.
@Anti Wufei No, they are NOT the same species. Domestic cats are descended from the African Wildcat (Felis Lybica). Also, plenty of animals can hybridize without being the same species, and some rare ones without even being the same genus (ex: Babirusa x Pig hybrids).
@KAHANU ERMEYAS-TULU okay but I mean like how the lynx is bigger than the wildcat like I am concerned that the lynx might think that the wildcat is prey
They each probably hunt different prey, and occupy different ecological niches. I guess it would be possible for a lynx to occasionally kill a wildcat, but they wouldn't really see each other as competition
who wouldn't if your caged up and feed frozen stuff they need to hunt n exercise muscles n roam free n mate n visit the local pubs for leftovers n cat fights...u know do wat cats do annoy n taunt caged up dogs u know life of a cat..now u have some dude wearing surgical gloves feeding you...life can be so boring 😅😆
You are dreaming if you think you can introduce this unfortunate holdover of a truly wild animal anywhere in England. Just look at the comments; know that people will not keep their pets enclosed or inside, and you will wind up with hybrids that are vicious, unable to be wild, and unable to be pets: the worst of both worlds.
That's a false belief among many people. Case in point. I once had several feral cats living near me to which my neighbors wanted to get rid of. Not me though because, with them being so close to my house, I never had a mouse or rat problem so when I would have leftover food every now and then, I would put it out for them and even though they wouldn't get too close to me they would know what I was doing and eat it up and I still didn't have a mouse or rat problem.
Absolutely not. Even spoiled domestic cats are a great danger to birds and other wildlife, as they are hardwired to hunt and kill. That, plus their own safety, is why it is best to keep them inside.
@@IamMrEHOPE because idiots at the zoo would feed the animals things which are bad for them or feed them too much. The zookeepers give them exactly what they need to be healthy. The guy who is looking after the Scottish Wild cats is a trained zoologist or other specialist who knows what he is doing.
