Wildcats without collars

Wildcats released by Saving Wildcats are fitted with GPS-radio collars so that we can monitor their location and behaviour post-release. For the past year, the released wildcats have been identifiable to the public by their tracking collars, which are made of grey silicon and have a piece of high-visibility tape on the battery.

The battery on the collar lasts around nine months, and we replaced most of the collars early in 2024 so that we could continue collecting behavioural data through the breeding season, which turned out to be a very successful one, with seven females giving birth to litters. The wild-born offspring are not collared because we cannot fit tracking collars to growing animals, so we have been monitoring them as best as possible using camera-traps. However, this is increasingly challenging as the kittens grow older and become more independent from their mothers.

A wildcat kitten at dispersal age without a collar

 

As we reach the middle of October, the collar batteries on the released adult wildcats are running down once again, and although we will try to replace a few to monitor key individuals for a bit longer, most will be removed. Together with the first-generation offspring, that means there are now increasing numbers of wildcats across Badenoch and Strathspey, and most of them do not have tracking collars. We continue to monitor the population as best as possible using a network of camera traps, the locations of which are informed by the wealth of tracking data that we have collected since the first release. However, we also rely on sightings from the public to keep track of this new and growing population, so if you do see a wildcat in Badenoch and Strathspey please get in touch with as much information as possible (ideally photographs or video, an exact location, time and date) via email, at wildcats@rzss.org.uk. For wildcat sightings from further afield, please add them to iRecord and they will be verified by experts in wildcat ID.

We are currently in the process of trapping wildcats to remove their collars as the batteries are now starting to fail. Over the past year we have collected a wealth of data regarding their movements, which has helped us to establish home ranges and crossovers with other released individuals. As a result, we have been able to set up a passive monitoring grid of cameras, along with a network of informants who will report any sightings.

While many individuals will be trapped to remove the collars, they may also drop off on their own. Before deployment each collar is fitted with a drop off mechanism. This is a weak link which will degrade over time and given enough time or force, eventually break. This weak link is provided to avoid any welfare issues associated with entanglement while also ensuring that collars will eventually fall off if we are unable to successfully trap individuals. Two collars have fallen off to date which shows that the drop off mechanisms work in the field.

Now more than ever, public sightings will be invaluable in helping us to monitor wildcats both within and outside of the release site. If you have seen a striped cat that you suspect to be a wildcat, we would love to hear from you. Footage and location information can be compared to reference images and historic tracking data to confirm individual ID’s along with confirming the presence of any offspring.

While the wildcats released in 2023 will now no longer be wearing collars, the wildcats released this year, in 2024, will still be fitted with collars to allow us to gather more information as the project continues. We also hope to conduct further releases of wildcats next year, which will also be fitted with these collars, allowing us to build our knowledge and understanding of wildcat habitat preferences and seasonal movements, crucial for informing future conservation action for the species.