The wildcat is a carnivorous mammal of the Felidae family. The range of the species as a whole is very broad, although currently fragmented in the most populated areas: In Italy the nominal subspecies is found throughout the interior area of the southern-centre. In the province of Salerno it can be found in parks, nature reserves, where human presence is limited.
The European wildcat is an inhabitant of hardwood forests at medium-low heights (including in a range between 300/400 to 800 m), while avoiding the mountainous areas with snow cover.
The wildcats have nocturnal habits, as during the day they doze in the thick vegetation or in shelters. They are territorial animals that delimit their own rather large territory (on average of 10 km²), marking it with fragrant and visual signals (for example by scoring the trunks with their nails), and patrolling constantly to detect any intruders. Peripheral areas of the territory may overlap with those of other specimens, without involving violent clashes.
Their appearance resembles that of tabby cats but they have the largest heads and darker hair. Males differ from females by size, 5.5 to 3.5 kg, although there may be variations depending on the seasons.
Wildcats mainly hunt small rodents, birds and reptiles, but when food is scarce they are not reluctant to eat insects. Also, they are excellent fishers, with the ability to catch small fish, after a long time waiting and stalking.
Wildcats do not form stable pairs, as they mate in the spring, with the gestation lasts from 9-10 weeks and the female gives birth to between 2 and 4 small offspring (single pregnancies are very rare). The mother remains with the offspring until they can take care of themselves, usually at the age of 3-4 months. The life expectancy in the wild is around 15 years.
The species is listed in the IUCN category of threat as LC-Least Concern. Amongst the factors of threat are those common to all the wild populations as the modification and fragmentation of habitats and poaching. In addition, in this case, the hybridisation with domestic cats.
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Nowell, K. 2008. Felis silvestris. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Versione 2010.1
Mario Dell'Agata, Il gatto selvatico: pagine di un professore campagnolo, Giardini, 1986 - 119 pagine