Wildcat

The wildcat is a small cat found throughout most of Africa, Europe, and southwest and central Asia into India, China, and Mongolia. Because of its wide range, it is classed by the IUCN as Least Concern. However, crossbreeding with housecats is extensive and has occurred throughout almost the entirety of the species' range.

The wildcat shows a high degree of geographic variation. Asiatic subspecies have spotted, isabelline coats, African subspecies have sandy-grey fur with banded legs and red-backed ears, and European wildcats resemble heavily built striped tabbies with bushy tails, white chins and throats. All subspecies are generally larger than house cats, with longer legs and more robust bodies. The actual number of subspecies is still debated, with some organisations recognising 22, while others recognise only four, including the Chinese mountain cat, which was previously considered a species in its own right.

Genetic, morphological and archaeological evidence suggests that the housecat was domesticated from the African wildcat, probably 9,000-10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent region of the Near East, coincident with the rise of agriculture and the need to protect harvests from grain-eating rodents. This domestication probably occurred when grain was yielded from the Agricultural Revolution onwards, which was stored in granaries that attracted rodents, which in turn attracted cats.

When hunting, the wildcat patrols forests and along forest boundaries and glades. In favourable conditions, it will readily feed in fields. The wildcat will pursue prey atop trees, even jumping from one branch to another. On the ground, it lies in wait for prey, then catches it by executing a few leaps, which can span three metres. Sight and hearing are the wildcat's primary senses when hunting, its sense of smell being comparatively weak. When hunting aquatic prey, such as ducks or nutrias, the wildcat waits on trees overhanging the water. It kills small prey by grabbing it in its claws, and piercing the neck or occiput with its fangs. When attacking large prey, the wildcat leaps upon the animal's back, and attempts to bite the neck or carotid. It does not persist in attacking if prey manages to escape it. Wildcats hunting rabbits have been observed to wait above rabbit warrens for their prey to emerge. Although primarily a solitary predator, the wildcat has been known to hunt in pairs or in family groups, with each cat devoted entirely to either listening, stalking, and pouncing. While wildcats in Europe will cache their food, such a behaviour has not been observed in their African counterparts.

Because of its habit of living in areas with rocks and tall trees for refuge, dense thickets and abandoned burrows, the wildcat has few natural predators. In Central Europe, many kittens are killed by pine martens, and there is at least one account of an adult wildcat being killed and eaten. In the steppe regions of Europe and Asia, village dogs constitute a serious enemy of wildcats. In Tajikistan, wolves are its most serious enemy, having been observed to destroy cat burrows. Birds of prey, including eagle-owls, and saker falcons, have been known to kill wildcat kittens. Seton Gordon recorded an instance whereby a wildcat fought a golden eagle, resulting in the deaths of both combatants. In Africa, wildcats are occasionally eaten by pythons. Competitors of the wildcat include the jungle cat, golden jackal, red fox, marten, and other predators. Although the wildcat and the jungle cat occupy the same ecological niche, the two rarely encounter one another, on account of different habitat preferences: jungle cats mainly reside in lowland areas, while wildcats prefer higher elevations in beech forests.

Although a furbearer, the wildcat's skin is of little commercial value, due to the unattractive colour of its natural state, and the difficulties present in dyeing it. In the former Soviet Union, the fur of a forest wildcat usually fetches 50 kopecks, while that of a steppe wildcat fetches 60 kopecks. Wildcat skin is almost solely used for making cheap scarfs, muffs, and women's coats. It is sometimes converted into imitation sealskin. As a rule, wildcat fur is difficult to dye in dark brown or black, and has a tendency to turn green when the dye is not well settled into the hair. When dye is overly applied, wildcat fur is highly susceptible to singeing.

In the former Soviet Union, wildcats were usually caught accidentally in traps set for martens. In modern times, they are caught in unbaited traps on pathways or at abandoned fox, badger, hare or pheasant trails. One method of catching wildcats consists of using a modified muskrat trap with a spring placed in a concealed pit. A scent trail of pheasant viscera leads the cat to the pit. A wildcat caught in a trap growls and snorts.

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