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European Wildcat — printable fact sheet
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European Wildcat
Felis silvestris
Felis silvestris is not a feral tabby, and it is not the ancestor of the housecat — that role belongs to the African wildcat, a separate species domesticated in the Near East. The European wildcat is a genuinely wild forest animal with a thicker skull, a larger brain relative to…
Did you know?
- The European Wildcat is one of the ancestors of the modern domestic cat, but it remains genetically distinct and does not readily interbreed in the wild.
- The hybridisation problem is so severe that identifying a "pure" wildcat requires a genetic test rather than a look at the animal, and pelage scoring systems have been developed that grade the tail rings, dorsal stripe and flank markings on a points scale. European wildcats have been recorded travelling many kilometres in a night, using far larger ranges than a domestic cat needs. They do not miaow in the way housecats do; the domestic cat's meow is largely a behaviour directed at humans and is much reduced in wild Felis. Neutering feral cats around forest blocks is now a mainstream wildcat conservation measure, which is an odd position for a cat charity to end up in.
What I learned
Draw the european wildcat
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