Is the wildcat of the Iberian Peninsula in danger of extinction?

2023-04-17 13:00:06

The recent Red Book Assessment for the European Wildcat (Wild cats), promoted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), shows an alarming scenario for this one small feline, in the Iberian peninsula. What has been evidenced, in the first place, is a great fragmentation of its populations in Spain and Portugal. This study also reveals some knowledge gaps, particularly regarding its abundance and trends.

Moved by this situation, a group of specialists from both countries in this small cat held a technical meeting at the beginning of 2022 with the main objective of collecting updated information on the situation of the species and establish a roadmap to help reverse this situation.

The wildcat population is very fragmented in Spain and Portugal

The different groups that work with the species shared for the first time the information available for different regions of Spain and Portugal, reaching the main conclusion that there are two different and contrasting situations of the species in the territory. In the north and northeast, the species is apparently well distributed with relatively high densities. However, in the south and center of the Peninsula there is low occupancy with a extreme fragmentation and low density.

The team of experts, including Emilio Virgosa researcher in the area of ​​Biodiversity and Conservation at the Rey Juan Carlos University (Madrid), points out that urgent actions are required to clarify the causes of this general decline and design the necessary conservation measures, particularly in the Mediterranean subpopulation.

“Priority actions would consist of compiling all available information on status and trends, agreeing on standardized and unified monitoring methods that allow periodic assessments of populations, assessing the possibility of a regional assessment of conservation status, and raising awareness among the public and conservation administrations. pre-extinction scenario which the species faces in most of Iberia”, according to the analysis.

The experts seek to unify monitoring methods that allow periodic assessments of the populations

It is currently being carried out a national census of the species, with the collaboration of dozens of volunteers. Done with camera traps, will end this summer and will have covered more than 120 points (of 2,000 hectares each) distributed throughout the Spanish geography. This record can be a first quantitative diagnosis of the current situation in the state.

In addition to these conclusions, the researchers have marked out some essential steps that must be followed for the preservation of the species; among them, constitute specific working groups on different conservation problems and evaluate with IUCN their status at the regional level, as well as initiate an awareness campaign addressed to the public and those responsible for the administrations on the situation of the species.

Reference:

Gerngross, P. et al. “Felis silvestris. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species”. IUCN (2022)

Fuente:

UNIVERSITY OF ALICANTE

Rights: Creative Commons.