Wildcats may rule the woods once more from Land’s End to John o’Groats as part of a scheme to secure the future of the endangered animals.

Only a few hundred are thought to survive in the wild in Scotland, but there are hopes that captive animals will be released within five years.

The project, led by the Aspinall Foundation, is designed to boost numbers by restocking thinly populated areas and returning wildcats to areas from which they have disappeared.

Reintroductions are likely to begin in Scotland but conservationists hope to bring them back eventually to parts of England and Wales where they could be found until the 18th century.

Scottish wildcats are Britain’s only remaining native felids since the lynx vanished about 1,500 years ago. Some experts believe that loss of habitat, persecution and crossbreeding with the domestic cat, Felis catus, will cause the animal to die out within a decade.

A survey into Scottish wildcat numbers has been launched this month by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). The public are urged to report all sightings of the cats, their tracks and any other indications of their whereabouts.

Scottish wildcats, Felis sylvestris grampia, are a subspecies of the European wildcat, Felis sylvestris, but their fate is in doubt. Interbreeding with domestic cats has made it difficult to know whether conservation would protect the wildcat or a crossbreed.

Research into cat genetics last year identified a DNA marker that, combined with analysis of coat markings, lets scientists distinguish between “pure” and “tainted” wildcats. SNH plans to use it to establish how badly wildcats have been contaminated by crossbreeding and how many are left.

The Aspinall Foundation, which runs Howletts and Port Lympne zoos in Kent, has a male and female Scottish wildcat proved to be free of domestic cat DNA. This pair, with others bred by private collectors, will play a key role in breeding kittens suitable for reintroduction to the wild.

Amos Courage, zoo director, said: “What we are trying to do is help fund a programme to run genetic tests on the wild population. There are about 400 in Scotland but there are still questions whether they are purebred.”

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