Freiburg (dpa) – It is estimated that several hundred of the strictly protected wild cats live in Baden-Württemberg and their number is increasing. “They now populate the entire Rhine plain, and from there this wild animal species is increasingly spreading towards the east,” said a spokeswoman for the Baden-Württemberg Forestry Experimental and Research Institute (FVA). Since 2018, there has also been increasing evidence that wildcats also live on the High Rhine; They are also now on the rise in the north of Baden-Württemberg.
The animals benefited from mild winters – “they ensure the survival of the wild cat both due to the good availability of food and through better rearing conditions for the young in the spring,” said the spokeswoman. Open spaces created by drought or, for example, trees falling due to storms or pests also favored the survival of animals. “You need so-called open land and plenty of space for movement,” it said.
The species, which was once threatened with extinction, is threatened by busy roads and habitats cut up by infrastructure – and especially by domestic cats. When wild cats mate with them, so-called hybrid species arise – a serious problem, especially in the southwest, it was said. The Nature Conservation Association (Nabu) of Baden-Württemberg has long been calling for free-roaming cats to be castrated in order to protect wild cats.
It is important to preserve forests as habitats for wild cats so that they do not come close to settlements, the FVA spokeswoman continued. In forests, wild cats meet domestic cats much less often. It is unclear whether the mixing of cats and wild cats is progressing. The development must be closely monitored in the next few years.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:231120-99-09331/2
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