Taxonomy of the Scottish Wildcat

It will be seen that domestic cats (originally Felis catus), European wildcats (originally Felis silvestris) and African wildcats (originally Felis lybica) are now considered to be members of the same species, Felis silvestris. This species is represented by three main Groups in the wild - in addition to the Silvestris group or European wildcat (represented by Felis silvestris silvestris) which is found in European forests and the Lybica Group or African wildcat (represented by Felis silvestris lybica), there is also the Ornata Group, the Indian Desert or Steppe wildcat (represented by Felis silvestris ornata) which is found in western and southern Asia.

Wildcats
Species	Group	Subspecies	English name
Wildcat Felis silvestris	Silvestris	Felis silvestris grampia	Scottish Wildcat
		Felis silvestris silvestris	European Wildcat
		Felis silvestris caucasica	Caucasian Wildcat
		Felis silvestris cretensis	Crete Wildcat
		Felis silvestris reyi	Corsican Wildcat
		Felis silvestris jordansi	Balearic Wildcat
	Lybica	Felis silvestris lybica (many subspecies and regional varieties)	African Wildcat
	Ornata	Felis silvestris ornata	Indian Desert or Steppe Wildcat

There are many different subspecies and regional varieties of the Lybica and Ornata Groups, the number of which varies according to the authority consulted. However, only six subspecies are recognised in the Silvestris group, : Felis silvestris silvestris is found throughout mainland Europe while F s caucasica is located in Turkey and the area surrounding the Black Sea and the Scottish Wildcat (F.s. grampia) is more or less restricted to Scotland north of the Forth and Clyde. The other three subspecies are confined to Mediterranean islands F.s. cretensis to Crete, F.s. reyi to Corsica, and F.s. jordansi to the Balearic Islands.

The Scottish Wildcat has been isolated from its relatives in mainland Europe for 8,000 years. A cat collected by Miller from Invermoriston in 1907 was used as the type specimen and in 1951, it was used to define the Scottish Wildcat as a distinct species (Felis grampia). However, domestic cats have been present in Britain since Roman times and the possibility of interbreeding between wildcats and domestic cats means that Scottish wildcats of today may be very different to those of 2,000 years ago. Indeed, as early as 1897 Edward Hamilton, writing in the Annals of Scottish Natural History, warned "It would seem that the original Wild Cat, as found in the early historic times as well as in the Middle Ages, has for a long time been quite extinct in this country, its place being taken in the first instance by a mixed breed, in which the hereditary strain of the original wild race predominated. Later on, as the imported domestic race increased in numbers and localities, this was superseded by a still more modified form of the domestic cat, in which the foreign characteristics of the ancestral progenitors of the domestic race, viz. the African cat, were in the ascendant and prevail up to the present time."

Given the possibilities for extensive hybridisation between Scottish wildcats and domestic cats, which are believed to have descended from the African wildcat, it is unsurprising that these three cats are now considered to be members of the same species.

Another problem which has arisen with the Scottish wildcat is that the type specimen from Invermoriston was used as the benchmark for new animals which were purchased from museums from gamekeepers and animals which did not closely resemble the original were discarded. There appears to be considerable dimorphism in the Scottish wildcat, an as the Invermoriston cat is believed to have been an atypical animal, the museums' policy of only accepting cats which resemble it is now believed to have severely distorted the conception of what is a true Scottish wildcat.

Scottish Natural Heritage recently published a report on the Scottish wild Cat (Balharry, D., and Daniels, M., (1998) Wild living cats in Scotland. Scottish Natural Heritage Research, Survey and Monitoring Report No 23.) The aim of the report was three fold - to review the origin, history and definition of the wildcat, to investigate an assess the variation found within contemporary wild living cat populations in Scotland, and to identify criteria to be used to determine whether a distinct "wildcat" exists today. They studied 330 wild living cats and based on detailed analysis of 53 adults where able to define two groups, 1 and 2. Of these group 1, which tended to live in cooler, drier areas, differed significantly from domestic cats and was proposed as "a contender for the label 'wildcat'."

The five European subspecies of wildcat are not considered to be endangered and are classified as "least concern". The Scottish wildcat is "vulnerable" and since 1988, it has been protected under Schedule 5 of the Countryside and Wildlife Act (1981). However, in a court case at Stonehaven Sheriff Court in May 1990, a defendant was acquitted of charges of killing three wildcats because an expert witness could not state "beyond reasonable doubt" that the cats were true "wildcats" and not hybrids. This precedent effectively means that the wildcat is no longer protected. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee proposed that "wildcat hybrid (of wildcat appearance") be added to Schedule 5 but the proposal was not accepted. This loophole in the law could lead to the extinction of the Scottish wildcat, of which only an estimated 3,500 individuals remain. The wildcat's best hope of protected status may be with the new Scottish parliament which is the process of passing a bill to ban fox hunting.

---

Return to index	Return to Scottish wildcat

---