Is this a wild cat ?

[blacktimberwolf]

A friend of my daughter, who happens to be an enthousiastic wildlife watcher & passionate about all things to do with the countryside, recently set up a few trail cams opposite a badger's set over several nights, hoping to see the badgers..............well he did as well as the usual foxes & roe deer but to his surprise this critter came into the frame, (or rather these critters, as he believes they are two seperate animals as their tail rings differ.) Anyway,I thought you might like to see them so I've put them onto a youtube format so you can have them on 'full screen' for a better look.
Just a reminder that this is in the mid-west of France, so we're not looking for a grumpy, thick set Caledonian type I don't think wild cats are officially resident in the region & there are loadsa farm/stray cats roaming around, so even if we are talking wild cat(s)......it's more likely to be a hybrid. The aforementioned lad has sent copies to a relevant organisation that deals with regional wildlife & habitat & is awaiting confirmation ( or not)

There are two short vids.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foij6aVxZ1w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8Yf7LMEyNg



So what do you think ?

 

[rik_uk3]

[video=youtube;foij6aVxZ1w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foij6aVxZ1w[/video]

 

[rik_uk3]

edit: wrong thread

 

[blacktimberwolf]

Looks like I wasted my time..................................that'll teach me.

 

[crosslandkelly]

Interesting vid.. They look like feral cats to me, But its hard to be sure.

 

[blacktimberwolf]

Just to make things a little more interesting for you, here is a dead one for comparison, his name was Ray & yes you can eat it & make a parka hood fur trim from it's pelt. !!!

 

[blacktimberwolf]

A few more pics for comparison.....

 

[blacktimberwolf]

Where are bushwhacker & JonathanD when you need 'em ?

 

[Elen Sentier]

Seriously beautiful animal. There are wildcats on the continent, slightly different to the Scottish wildcat but presumably able to interbreed with domestic and ferals as the Scottish cat can, and does. It's the interbreeding that is causing the pure wildcat to die out in Scotland although the programme may well mean more of them survivie and breed true in the Highlands.

 

[blacktimberwolf]

Just to keep the ball rolling.

 

[Andy BB]

wild? Dunno, but looks pretty annoyed...................

 

[Bushwhacker]

Only just seen this thread. Will have to have a look at the vids on a big screen when I get a chance.

 

[santaman2000]

What's different between these cats (all of the pix so far on this thread) and normal housecats? Most of them look like the one my grandmother had when I was a small boy. They certainly have a normal housecat's long tail. And I can't really see any indication they're any bigger than a housecat.

 

[blacktimberwolf]

What's different between these cats (all of the pix so far on this thread) and normal housecats? Most of them look like the one my grandmother had when I was a small boy. They certainly have a normal housecat's long tail. And I can't really see any indication they're any bigger than a housecat.

Physically, there isn't a great deal of difference between & domestic tabby & a wild cat except that the wild cat has a broader & stronger skull & longer & wider canines which are angled differently than a domestic cat's. Wild cats also have larger brains ( Much like wolf's brain is about 30% bigger than a dog's of similar size)
Psychologically they are quite different though,.. wild cats can never be domesticated for example.

 

[Elen Sentier]

This is a Scottish one I think ??? I'd say s/he has just been disturbed and is hoping the photographer will go away , possibly at the Abernethy site as I can't imagine (although I would love to) being able to get that close to one in the wild. I've been that close at Abernethy and I get "the look", a "you dare come any closer and I will have you!", which I fully appreciate. They are incredibly lovely animals in my view, for all sorts of reasons including the wildness.

 

[Bushwhacker]

I reckon it's just the one cat. There's less than an hour between the two takes and the direction of travel is concurrent with this.

It's very difficult to see the pelage under the IR light, so I don't think ID is going to be 100% conclusive. There are some interesting features, though - one being the blunt tail and the banding, the other being the thick stripes on the nape, shown near the end of the 2nd video. I don't think anything is clear enough to tell.
One tip to try with the camera is to mask some of the LED's with some tape and the glare wouldn't be as bad. I think it's the amount of foliage, reflecting the light back which causes this.

 

[santaman2000]

This is a Scottish one I think ??? I'd say s/he has just been disturbed and is hoping the photographer will go away , possibly at the Abernethy site as I can't imagine (although I would love to) being able to get that close to one in the wild. I've been that close at Abernethy and I get "the look", a "you dare come any closer and I will have you!", which I fully appreciate.......

I thought the OP said it was from a trail cam? If so, there wouldn't be any photographer. And it was definitely taken using IR lighting which I believe is just as invisible to cats (and other mammals) as it is to us.

 

[blacktimberwolf]

I thought the OP said it was from a trail cam? If so, there wouldn't be any photographer. And it was definitely taken using IR lighting which I believe is just as invisible to cats (and other mammals) as it is to us.

I think Elen was refering to the photo I added to kick this thread outta the long grass.(post #10)..but you're right, it's the cat in the trail cam vids we're interested in.

Just to confuse things even more, here are a few more photos of a wild cat, there's something about this dude that differenciates it from a domestic cat.

When a wild cat meets a buzzard....

beautiful or what ?

 

[blacktimberwolf]

I reckon it's just the one cat. There's less than an hour between the two takes and the direction of travel is concurrent with this.

It's very difficult to see the pelage under the IR light, so I don't think ID is going to be 100% conclusive. There are some interesting features, though - one being the blunt tail and the banding, the other being the thick stripes on the nape, shown near the end of the 2nd video. I don't think anything is clear enough to tell.
One tip to try with the camera is to mask some of the LED's with some tape and the glare wouldn't be as bad. I think it's the amount of foliage, reflecting the light back which causes this.

Thanks Bushwhacker, I'll tell him about covering some of the lights to cut down on the glare...................true enough there are some features which all wild cats have, ringed tail with black tip, dark stripe along the back, the stripes on the nape, it even has the dark underpaws & the characteristc two bands leading from the corners of the eyes across the cheeks, the leg stripes look very similar aswell to all the photos I've seen of wild cats but as you say, not conclusive as there could well be domestic cats that have these markings too.


EDIT; I think you're correct about there only being the one animal, apart from your astute observations about the time lapse & direction, I've watched the vids many times, even freeze framing them & I can't really see any difference in tail patterns.
I wonder what he found so interesting in the badger's set ? .....would there be any tasty baby badgers at this time of year ?

 

[Bushwhacker]

Thanks Bushwhacker, I'll tell him about covering some of the lights to cut down on the glare...................true enough there are some features which all wild cats have, ringed tail with black tip, dark stripe along the back, the stripes on the nape, it even has the dark underpaws & the characteristc two bands leading from the corners of the eyes across the cheeks, the leg stripes look very similar aswell to all the photos I've seen of wild cats but as you say, not conclusive as there could well be domestic cats that have these markings too.


EDIT; I think you're correct about there only being the one animal, apart from your astute observations about the time lapse & direction, I've watched the vids many times, even freeze framing them & I can't really see any difference in tail patterns.
I wonder what he found so interesting in the badger's set ? .....would there be any tasty baby badgers at this time of year ?

It wouldn't stand a chance against an adult in a tight hole.
Most likely is it's just the old curiosity thing and it's having a shufty about, as cats do.