Small cat reintroductions

Carl Jones

Carl Jones

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
I am interested in accounts of small cat reintroductions. Can Zoochatters please point me in the direction of published accounts, or currently active restoration projects. I am interested in any attempts to re-establish populations of European Wildcats, and other species. There are many accounts of rehabilitating cats and these are very instructive, and what are the key references to systematic releases.
 
Not much help, but I know lots of work is being put into Scottish Wild Cats. May be of interest to you :)
 
Honestly I do not know if a reintroduction has ever been attempted with a small cat species. Occasionally an injured individual will be rehabbed and re-released, but I assume this is not what you mean. I think you mean a program to re-establish (or increase) a population in an area.

Actually I just thought of one - Iberian lynx. Attempts may also have been made with European lynx. Oh yes and here in the States the Canada lynx was reintroduced to Colorado. Hmmm - all members of the Lynx genus?

The authority on all things small cat is Jim Sanderson (an acquaintance of mine), the founder of Small Cat Conservation Foundation. If you really need an answer, I would suggest using the contact information on his website: Small Cat Conservation Alliance
 
European Lynx have been subject to successful re-introductions to former habitat. Pretty sure the European Wildcat has as well. Technically the Couger is a "Little Cat" and several females from Texas were re-introduced into south Florida to boost the gene pool among the local Florida "Panther" population.
 
Possibly you're familiar with this paper, but it lists studies investigating the success of reintroductions/translocations involving six small cat species (Canadian, European, and Iberian lynx; bobcat; European wildcat; and mountain lion):

1) Jule, K. R., Leaver, L. A., & Lea, S. E. (2008). The effects of captive experience on reintroduction survival in carnivores: a review and analysis. Biological Conservation, 141(2), 355-363.

Vis-à-vis wildcats, Highland Wildlife Park have an off-show facility to breed them under semi-natural conditions, which will hopefully select for individuals suited to eventual release. This is part of the Scottish Wildcat Action project. As I understand it, mortality on roads was the main problem for continental wildcat reintroductions. I haven't read it, but see:

2) Hartmann, H. (2006). Reintroduction of captive-bred wildcats in Germany. In Iberian Lynx Ex-Situ Conservation Seminar Series: Book of Proceedings (p. 135).

And, finally, a couple of papers on lynx. Whilst results have been mixed, the ongoing Iberian lynx programme is very promising.

3) Linnell, J. D., Breitenmoser, U., Breitenmoser-Würsten, C., Odden, J., & von Arx, M. (2009). Recovery of Eurasian lynx in Europe: what part has reintroduction played. Reintroduction of top-order predators, 72-91.

4) Devineau, O., Shenk, T. M., Doherty, P. F., White, G. C., & Kahn, R. H. (2011). Assessing release protocols for Canada lynx reintroduction in Colorado. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 75(3), 623-630.
 
Many thanks, these references are a great help. There are some other studies in Europe that I have heard of but whether they have published or not I am not sure. Cat reintroductions have some interesting challenges and I am interested in techniques. Some analogies with the reintroduction of predatory birds.
 
Carl Jones said:
Many thanks, these references are a great help. There are some other studies in Europe that I have heard of but whether they have published or not I am not sure. Cat reintroductions have some interesting challenges and I am interested in techniques. Some analogies with the reintroduction of predatory birds.
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Ah, I see. I remember the Iberian lynx program removes non-viable third offspring for captive breeding, which you could compare to cross-fostering in birds. Probably your best bet would be to contact project directly.
 
Arizona Docent said:
I also remembered bobcats were reintroduced to an island off the coast of state of Georgia. Here is an article on the topic: Population and genetic outcomes 20 years after reintroducing bobcats (Lynx rufus) to Cumberland Island, Georgia USA
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Thank you very much for this. I have read the paper and it is a great help. Cats have similarities to raptors in that they have long parental care, and learn hunting techniques from their parents, and by playing with theadults and siblings. When releasing captive bred animals they will need to be fed while they develop their hunting and other survival skills. I am interested in the types of management that may be applied to smaller cats during reintroduction to maximise survival.
 
Reintroduction of Carpathian lynx into Czech/German border mountains happened more than 30 years ago and was successfull. They would catch adult lynxes in Slovakian mountains. Animals would spend quarantine time (few weeks) in Ostrava or other zoo. They would be fed mostly rabbits during that time. Then they were released at new sites. Few animals each year. Release sites were different, to cover most potential future range. Z historie návratu rysa ostrovida na Šumavu - Šelmy.cz
 
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