Mary Allen
The wild cat is a separate animal species. It belongs to small cats such as the cheetah, the puma, or the lynx. The wild cats are slightly larger and heavier than our domestic cats. Wild cats are found in parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. They are quite common and are therefore not endangered or even threatened with extinction.
There are three subspecies: The European wildcat is also called a forest cat. The Asian wildcat is also called the steppe cat. Finally, the African wild cat, also known as the wild cat, is also known. We, humans, bred our domestic cats from the wild cat. However, a domestic cat that has gone feral or gone feral is not a wild cat.
How does the European wildcat live?
The European wild cats can be recognized by the stripes on their backs. The tail is quite thick and short. It shows three to five dark rings and is black at the top.
They live mostly in the forest, but also along coasts or at the edge of swamps. They don’t like to live where people do a lot of farming or where there’s a lot of snow. They are also very shy people.
Wild cats can smell better than dogs. You are also very smart. Their brain is larger than that of our domestic cats. The European wildcats stalk their prey and try to surprise them. They feed mainly on mice and rats. They rarely eat birds, fish, frogs, lizards, rabbits, or squirrels. Sometimes they catch a young hare or a fawn or even a fawn.
You are a loner. They only meet to mate between the months of January and March. The female carries two to four babies in her belly for about nine weeks. It looks for a tree hollow or an old fox or badger den to give birth. The cubs initially drink milk from their mother.
Their biggest enemies in nature are lynxes and wolves. Birds of prey such as the eagle only catch young animals. Your greatest enemy is the man. The European wild cats are protected in most countries and may not be killed. But humans are taking more and more habitats away from them. They also find less and less prey.
In the 18th century, there were very few European wild cats left. For about a hundred years, however, the stocks have been increasing again. As the map shows, they are far from being found everywhere. In Germany, there are about 2,000 to 5,000 animals. The areas in which they feel comfortable are very fragmented.
Wildcats cannot be tamed. In nature, they are so shy that you can hardly photograph them. Mixtures of wild cats and escaped domestic cats usually live in zoos and animal parks.