Potential wildcat kitten caught on camera using thermal imaging technology

Thermal imaging technology helping to survey deer in the Angus Glens has been trialled for other uses and has captured footage of a potential Scottish wildcat hunting with a kitten in tow. 

The imagery – thought to be the first thermal drone image of its kind in Scotland – was captured by our contractors, BH Wildlife Consultancy.

Ben Harrower from BH Wildlife Consultancy said:

Capturing images of any animal the size of a cat in the wild would be next to impossible without the benefit of the thermal camera but once you have a target in-frame, it’s easy enough to then track and film them.

The cutting-edge technique makes use of a thermal camera mounted on a drone, which can help us find well-hidden animals in the wild. Once located, we can switch to the daylight camera and use a powerful optical zoom to get a close high-quality image of the subject. Ben added: 

"We might have a rough idea of a general area to search and it can take many hours and several attempts before capturing anything. It’s also pretty challenging when you are trying to fly between inclement weather and often being smothered in midges." 

By marrying up the imagery with GIS data (mapping technology), we can build an in-depth understanding of wildlife populations to support population management activity. While we typically use this technology for monitoring deer populations, testing its potential for locating wildcats and getting footage of the hunting cat was a lucky bonus. The same technique has also been used to film another potential wildcat in Glen Doll.

Our Environment Forester Gareth Ventress said:

"We have been working with BH Wildlife Consultancy for about three years on deer surveys and the results have been phenomenally successful in helping us to refine our deer management work. It’s also been useful in helping us to build our understanding of feral goats and feral wild boar populations.

Following this success, we started looking at other applications for the technology, thinking that it might have potential in searching for protected species in complex habitats. We asked more in hope than in expectation, but Ben was up for the challenge and came up with some great footage."

Why this is important

Definitive wildcat identification can be complicated because wildcats have a significant history of interbreeding with domestic cats. Identification is only possible through a combination of genetic and pelage scoring. Pelage scoring involves looking carefully at a cat’s appearance and scoring its features. This helps the identifier tell the difference between a wildcat, a domestic tabby cat, and a hybrid of the two.

The high-quality images obtained by the drone allow us to assess the physical characteristics so that we can make an educated assessment as to whether the cats are likely wildcats, hybrids or feral domestic cats. 

Although it’s likely that most wildcats found in Scotland are hybrids – other than those released into the Cairngorms through the Saving Wildcats project – we work on the precautionary principle that any suitably marked cats spotted could be wildcats, and manage the forests accordingly. 

Forests managed to produce timber offer a mosaic of habitats that are ideal for wildcats. Clear felled and replanted areas are usually grassy and can support high densities of voles and mice, which makes them ideal hunting areas for wildcats as you can see from the hunting behaviour recorded. 

And with only a small part of any plantation being harvested in any single year, wildcats will always be able to find large undisturbed areas in plantations for resting and breeding. Ben said:

It was something special to watch as the adult female showed the kitten how to hunt voles, with the most important part of the lesson being that she only managed to catch one vole out of four attempts. And the kitten even showed off what it had learned by pouncing on its own.

Later footage from Glen Doll showed a single wildcat roaming amongst windblown trees. Gareth added:

"This spurred us on to make a more focussed effort in Glen Doll and that too came up trumps.

This footage is really exciting to see and illustrates the potential of this technique in aiding conservation efforts, particularly for critically endangered species."

Our work with wildcats

The wildcat is critically endangered and on the verge of extinction in Scotland. We are one of many partner agencies in the Saving Wildcats conservation project that is working towards restoring wildcats into the Cairngorms National Park to boost the Scottish population.