18/05/2016 in Conservation
One the of the main threats to the survival of the Scottish wildcat is hybridisation. There are so few wildcats left that it is difficult for them to find other wildcats to breed with. It is estimated that there are a minimum of 813,000 feral cats in the UK and the impact on our native cat is huge.
Hybridisation, is the result of interbreeding between Scottish wildcats and domestic cats. As the offspring are a mixture both in their appearance and genetically, Wildcats are under severe threat of being wiped out as a distinct species by genetic introgression.
RZSS is a partner organisation of Scottish Wildcat Action. For more information about this programme and how we are working to save the Scottish Wildcat, please visit: http://www.scottishwildcataction.org/
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