WILDCAT PROJECT 2024–2027

The Challenge of Hybridisation

The wildcat population continues to spread across the Swiss Plateau, and this is creating new challenges for the species. On the Swiss Plateau, wildcats are facing increasing contact with domestic cats, with which they can mate (hybridise). Mating between domestic cats and wildcats produces fertile offspring, known as «hybrids». Introgressive hybridisation, defined as the presence of domestic cat genes in the wildcat gene pool from earlier crosses or backcrosses, is seen as a potential threat to the wildcat. Mixing gene pools could lead to local extinction of the species in the long term, as the wildcat is greatly outnumbered by the domestic cat throughout its range. However, hybridisation does not appear to occur completely randomly but is influenced by certain factors that we want to explore in more detail.

n the study area of Bucheggberg, an area in the Swiss Plateau where hybrids have been found to live, we are investigating how wildcats, domestic cats and hybrid individuals behave. Among other things, we are interested in whether and how their ecology differs and what the kinship relations between the individuals is. We plan to conduct similar studies in other areas. Comparing areas with different rates of introgression could provide insights into the factors that favour or reduce hybridisation.

Health Monitoring

Although wildcats and domestic cats do not belong to the same species, they are so closely related that they can have the same diseases. Pathogens can therefore be easily transmitted. In this project, we want to understand the consequences this can have for both wildcats and domestic cats and whether hybrids play a special role in this. For this part of the project, we are working together with the FIWI at the University of Bern and the Veterinary Medical Laboratory at the University of Zurich.

Communications

An important goal of this project is to raise awareness of the wildcat and to develop measures to prevent hybridisation, and to communicate these to defined target groups.

Telemetric monitoring

Some individuals are equipped with GPS collars to track their movements and habitat selection in detail. The animals have to be captured once to be equipped with the GPS collar.

Veterinary examinations

As part of the capture and collaring, all individuals are examined and sampled by veterinarians from the FIWI at the University of Bern. The samples are analysed in the veterinary laboratory at the University of Zurich.