Highland Wildlife Park has announced the birth of 10 more Scottish wildcat kittens as part of a breeding programme to save them from extinction.
The Kincraig-based park has announced two new litters of five kittens were born to cats Tulla and Margaret.
Overall 18 kittens have now been born as part of the programme, which is only in its first breeding season.
Wildcats are Scotland’s most at-risk native species due to habitat loss and breeding with domestic cats.
MORE exciting news from the off-show @SaveOurWildcats conservation breeding centre based here at the park 👇😻 https://t.co/UqxDRKUd3E
— Highland Wildlife Park (@HighlandWPark) June 22, 2022
In response to the dwindling numbers, charity Saving Wildcats was established to bring the species back from the brink of extinction.
20 cats a year returned to the wild
The kittens were born at the Conservation Breeding for Release Centre in Kincraig, operated by Saving Wildcats.
The project aims to release up to 20 kittens each year into the Cairngorm National Park to repopulate in the wild.
Kittens will be tagged so movements and behaviour can be recorded.
Cats are known as predatory creatures, and while the wildcats are not fed live prey when in captivity, they are being trained to hunt and forage by the project team.
This will benefit the animals when they are released back into the wild and are responsible for their own wellbeing and diet.
Saving Wildcats hope that more births are due in the coming weeks.
Pawsome news
Making the announcement on social media, people were quick to gush about the cute new arrivals.
One wrote: “Wondering news, keep up the good work.”
Another wrote: “Congratulations, well done in all your efforts to save our species of wildcat.”
While one simply wrote: “Pawsome news.”
Conversation