Two captive-bred wildcats found dead after release into Cairngorms National Park

Warning: Graphic imagery below

Two captive bred wildcats have been discovered dead after being released into the Cairngorms National Park.

Saving Wildcats project said the two females, tracked by their GPS radio collars, were found shortly after their release into the wild by park rangers.

The charity said that one of the cats, Midge, was knocked down on a road.

“This was very bad luck – we expected our first road mortality to be on the A9 or one of the larger trunk roads, not on a minor road at midnight”, said Saving Wildcats field manager Dr Keri Langridge.

“Midge was doing well before this and had a stomach full of voles and mice.”

The second cat, Oats, died of starvation around four weeks after her release.

Midge was discovered after being knocked down on a road. saving wildcats via Supplied

Saving Wildcats said Oats was in an area unlikely to have enough prey to feed on and, despite leaving out supplementary food in the area where she had been released, the cat had not returned.

Dr Helen Senn, the Saving Wildcats lead, said the animals are “particularly vulnerable” upon their release into the wild.

“Although we prepare the wildcats for release in the best way possible, life in the wild is incredibly challenging for all animals”, she said.

“Immediately after release they are particularly vulnerable as they learn to adapt to their new life in the wild, to locate themselves in their environment, to learn about threats, and to become efficient hunters.

“Nobody is more saddened by the loss of these animals than the people working with them, because a lot of care is put into providing each released animal with the best chance possible.”

The deaths come amid landmark efforts to save the species from extinction within Scotland.

Led by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), the Saving Wildcats partnership is releasing 60 cats over the next three years into undisclosed locations within the Cairngorms Connect landscape of the national park where they will be carefully monitored using GPS-radio collars.