European wildcats are making a comeback in the Czech Republic, where they’re critically endangered. Conservationists found evidence of this species breeding in the Lusatian Mountains.Though these wildcats, similar in size to large domestic cats, aren’t at risk range-wide, some populations face local extinction.Experts note that positive recovery in Central European countries is countered by declines and a lack of basic population data elsewhere.
A quiet comeback story is unfolding for the European wildcat in the Czech Republic’s Lusatian Mountains. Conservationists tracking this elusive species there have spotted a male and female, named Jonáš and Tonka, the first to be found in the region in nearly a century.
This small cat species lives in forests across Europe. It’s doing relatively well in some places and is imperiled in others, like the Czech Republic, where it’s critically endangered. The European wildcat (Felis silvestris), which is around the size of a large housecat, was wiped out because of disappearing habitat — and persecution. They were considered vermin and killed because they preyed on poultry and they were hunted for sport. More recently, they’re sometimes hybridizing, breeding with domestic cats.
