European wildcat ヨーロッパヤマネコ

The European wildcat is a wild cat of the forests of Europe, the Caucasus and Anatolia in Turkey. It resembles a tabby house cat, but its sturdy build and thick, blunt-tipped tail set it apart. It is not the direct ancestor of house cats—that is the African wildcat. It is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, but in Scotland and elsewhere hybridization with house cats threatens the survival of wild populations.

It has a head-and-body length of 45–80 cm and weighs about 3–8 kg, with weight varying considerably by season. The coat is grey-brown with bold black stripes, and a single black line runs along the back. The tail is thick and bushy with a blunt tip, a few distinct black rings and a black end. The head is broad, and the legs are longer than those of most house cats.

It lives alone and holds a territory. It is mainly nocturnal, but in areas with few people it is also active by day, especially at dawn and dusk. Its main prey is rodents such as voles, and where rabbits are present it eats them often. Mating takes place in January–March and births mostly in April–May; gestation lasts about 64–71 days, and litters are of 1–8 kittens.

It is found from Europe to neighbouring parts of Russia, the Caucasus and Anatolia in Turkey. It was once widespread across Europe except Scandinavia, but today its range is patchy. The 2017 classification recognizes two subspecies: F. s. silvestris in Europe and F. s. caucasica in the Caucasus and Anatolia.

It lives mainly in broadleaf and mixed forests and also uses nearby grassland and scrub. In the Pyrenees it has been recorded up to 2,250 m.

Although it looks very much like a house cat, it is not the direct ancestor of house cats, which are believed to descend from the African wildcat of Africa and western Asia. A study published in 2025 concluded that house cats reached Europe about 2,000 years ago, and many older specimens once discussed as possible house cats were identified as European wildcats. At the same time, the spread of house cats has made hybridization between the two a serious problem.

In the IUCN Red List assessment published in 2022, it is listed as Least Concern (LC), with an unknown population trend. National assessments vary, and in Scotland it is considered Critically Endangered (CR). According to the IUCN Cat Specialist Group, more than 80% of the cats living wild in Scotland are hybrids or feral cats, and a 2019 report concluded that the wild population can no longer survive on its own. Under the Saving Wildcats project, captive-bred cats have been released in the Cairngorms National Park since 2023. Other threats include diseases from house cats, road traffic, rodenticides and habitat fragmentation. It is listed in CITES Appendix II.

The German naturalist Schreber named it Felis silvestris in 1777 (some sources give 1778). For a long time it was treated as a broad species that also included the African wildcat of Africa and Asia, but the 2017 classification of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group recognized the African wildcat as a separate species, and the European wildcat now refers to the populations of Europe, the Caucasus and Anatolia.