Big surprise

Wildcat falls into photo trap: experts delighted

This week, a wild cat was spotted on the Soboth.(Bild: Steirische Landesjägerschaft)

There was a sensational sighting on the Soboth in the Deutschlandsberg district this week. A shy forest dweller that was once native to Austria and then thought to be extinct was photographed by a wildlife camera - the wildcat. Experts are delighted about its return. 

The European wildcat, once thought to be extinct, was spotted on the Soboth in Deutschlandsberg on the night of March 6-7, 2024. Johann Silberschneider, hunter and district master hunter, whose wildlife camera accidentally captured the images of the wildcat in the heart of Western Styria, is extremely pleased about the sighting. However, he also points out that it is unfortunately becoming increasingly popular to chase rare wild animal species in order to get a sensational photo. 

Return on quiet paws 
The shy and reclusive wildcat was native to Austria until the middle of the last century. Then it disappeared from the Austrian forests and was officially considered lost or extinct. In 2009, the "Wildcat Coordination and Reporting Office" was set up and evidence and information on sightings of wildcats was once again collected.

"Enthusiasm for nature and interest in wild animals is increasing, but this interest should not become unpleasant for wild animals."

Johann Silberschneider, Jäger und Bezirksjägermeister

This is not the first sighting in Styria. In January 2020, a wild cat was run over in Preding. It is now on display at Tierwelt Herberstein. In the wake of the dead find, a photo trap monitoring program was launched to document the return of the rare forest dweller. In 2022, there was a sighting of a wildcat in the eastern part of Leibnitz. "There are obviously more of them and they are slowly spreading again," says wildcat expert Andreas Kranz from the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union.

The wildcat was native to Austria until the 1950s.(Bild: ÖBf/W. Simlinger)

This is how the expert assesses the sighting
"This is very special. You could say it's a big little sensation," says Kranz. According to him, the specimen in the wildlife camera photo is very likely to be a wildcat. However, according to Kranz, one hundred percent confirmation can only be obtained through fecal or hair samples.

Distinguishing features

European wildcat: ochre-yellow fur like dry grass, washed-out low-contrast pattern, dark narrow eel line on the back, whiskers completely white, often a small white throat patch, relatively bushy tail with three unconnected rings

Wildcat-colored domestic cat: basic color silver-gray, beautiful high-contrast tigering, several short branched stripes on the back, tail end usually pointed, color of the whiskers varies, white throat patch extremely rare

Lure sticks are also attached during photo trap monitoring. These are sprinkled with valerian and serve as a kind of hair trap. "The cats respond very well to this and it is possible to obtain hair samples." In this way, it can also be genetically confirmed whether it is actually a wildcat. 

Wild cat or wildcat-colored domestic cat
The European wildcat is a separate species of cat that cannot be equated with the domestic cat, even if they do have some visual similarities. However, their resemblance to our house cats can also be fatal for wild cats, which is why education is particularly important here, according to the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union. 

"Every cat that is found dead and where you are not sure whether it is possibly a wild cat or even a hybrid, i.e. a cross between a wild cat and a domestic cat, should be photographed and reported. This can then be clarified by the wildlife ecologist," says the expert. This also helps with the monitoring of wild cats.