A close relative of the domestic tabby, the wildcat, was chosen as the mammal of the year in 2024 by the Wilderness Program, which is operated by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Herman Ottó Intézet Nonprofit Kft. with the cooperation of the Hungarian Natural History Museum and the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden.
The European wildcat is very similar in appearance to the domestic cat, but in its lifestyle and behavior it is a wild animal – reads the information provided to MTI by the Herman Ottó Intézet Nonprofit Kft.
The predator, which can be found from Scotland to southern Europe and the east of the Caucasus mountain range, spends its days in the depths of dense forests and thickets, in rock cavities, hiding in tree shelters. Under the cover of night, it hunts in the more open terrain, in forest glades. Its food consists almost exclusively of freshly killed animals: rodents, and birds.
Its nutritional composition is primarily a function of supply. In years when there are a lot of field pucks, several wildcats exclusively consume these small mammals that cause agricultural damage.
According to the information, with the simplification of the availability of genetic tests, the real conservation situation of wildcat populations will emerge in the future. However, it can already be seen that there are areas where the degree of hybridization (mixing with domestic cats) has increased significantly, which threatens the long-term survival of the population. Responsible domestic cat keeping, consistent neutering of pets and keeping them indoors can significantly help the species’ survival, the announcement draws attention.
It was recalled that the Wild Hunt Program – one of Hungary’s first so-called community data collection programs – has been collecting data on the distribution and vulnerability of 18 protected plant and animal species since 2009, with the involvement of volunteers. In the care of the program, within the framework of the Mammal of the Year initiative, the 11th species has already been investigated.
(MTI)
Picture: wikipedia
