This was the first time the animal was photographed in Tyrol, the hunters’ association said. For Martina Just, wildlife ecologist and predator consultant for the association, this is a “sensation” after it is only the second confirmed detection of the wildcat in Tyrol.
In 2013, the animal, which resembles tabby domestic cats but can be assigned to a separate species, was identified in the Paznauntal using a hair sample. Now, for the first time, there are photos of the wildcat, which was long thought to be extinct in Tyrol.
Disappeared in the 1905s
Wild cats live “very secretly in structurally rich, near-natural forest areas,” it said. “The possible habitat for wildcats in Tyrol is probably greatly underestimated,” said Just. The photographed specimen was observed by the hunter during a hunting ground tour in St. Johann im Walde at an altitude of around 1,950 meters. This is remarkable, since mountainous areas have not been counted among the typical habitats so far. It was only later that the hunter became aware of the significance of the images. He then sent them to the Tyrolean Hunters’ Association.
According to the Nature Conservation Union, wildcats disappeared from local forests in the 1950s. Until the beginning of the 20th century, they were hunted by people because of their “harmfulness”. It was only in autumn that a wild cat was detected in Vorarlberg using a hair sample, which had been repeatedly photographed by wildlife cameras since 2018.
Source: Nachrichten
