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Land use intensification is increasing worldwide and affects wildlife movements, particularly of specialist car-nivores. Resource availability and anthropogenic activities drive the extent and shape of home range size. Wildlife may respond to decreased resource availability under intensification scenarios by increasing their home ranges; however they may be less affected when inhabiting sustainable agricultural landscapes. We investigate whether agricultural practices and landscape configuration influence the spatial behaviour of wildcats, a medium-sized specialist carnivore inhabiting landscapes with different degrees of agricultural presence across Europe. We focus on the effect of the proportions of high impact and low impact agriculture, forest integrity and forest edge density on wildcat home range size. We found that wildcat home range increased along with the proportion of high impact agriculture and the forest integrity, whereas it decreased when forest edge density increased. Forest edge density buffered the detrimental effects caused by high impact agriculture. To enhance the long term conservation of wildcats in Europe it is crucial to protect the sustainable mosaic-structured landscapes and prevent its conversion to homogenous intensified agricultural landscapes.

In spite of the increasing number of reports of troglostrongylosis in domestic cats in Europe (Brianti et al., 2014, Vet. Parasitol., in press), no data is available on the occurrence of this parasite in wildcats. Indeed, scientific data on the lungworms of this wild felid is scarce (Krone et al., 2008, Eur. J. Wildl. Res., 54:95-100). This study aims to investigate the lungworm species infecting wildcats, in order to assess their impact on the health of this endangered carnivorous and to elucidate their role as potential bridging hosts for this parasite to domestic animals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Wildcat carcasses were received from two Natural Parks situated in Basilicata and Sicily. Crops were biometrically and molecularly identified at sub-species level (Mattucci et al., 2013, Ecol. Evol., 3:2443-2458) and examined for lungworms. Morphometric data and causes of death were registered for each animal. Epidemiological indexes such as prevalence, mean abundance, mean intensity and aggregation k-index were calculated and statistically analyzed for each parasites species (Bush et al., 1997, J. Parasitol., 48:575-583). RESULTS: A total of 21 wildcats (12 females and 9 males) were examined, being 7 yearlings and 14 adults. Based on both biometrical and molecular analysis 19 were classified as pure Felis silvestris silvestris, whereas the remaining two were hybrids. Fifteen wildcats were found positive for Troglostrongylus brevior and 7 for Eucoleus aerophilus, being 5 (23.8%) animals co-infected by both lungworm species. Epidemiological indexes calculated for T. brevior and E. aerophilus respectively are reported on the follows: prevalence: 71.4% and 33.3%; mean abundance 4.7 and 0.8; mean intensity 6.6 and 2.4; aggregation k-index 0.69 and 0.42. The main cause of death was road casualties (66.6%) followed by illegal hunting (19.1%) and starvation (14.3%). No significant differences were recorded among animal variables neither between regions for both lungworm species. The rate of infection by T. brevior was larger in yearlings (85.7%) than in adults (64.3%), and mature worms were collected from the lungs of two 1-month-old kittens (Figure 1).CONCLUSIONS: Results of the present survey indicate that wildcats may be highly infected with T. brevior and E. aerophilus and might act as spreaders of these parasites to sympatric domestic animals. In spite of the large prevalence for lungworms herein observed, the aggregated distribution pattern recorded for both species suggests that these parasites do not represent a biological threat for the studied population (Lafferty, 2012, Philos. Trans. B., 367:2814-2827). Based on the topography, climatic features and prey spectrum of geographical regions where wildcats were collected, a similar picture might be envisaged in other wildcat populations living across the Mediterranean basin.

International audience

The wildcat is an elusive species that is threatened with extinction in many parts of its range. In Sicily it still lives in a wide range of habitats. During 2006, camera traps were used to investigate the distribution of the wildcat over a 660 ha wide area on the south-western slope of Mount Etna (NE Sicily). Twelve out of 18 trapping stations provided a total of 24 photographs. Nine different individuals were identified using morphological criteria. Our work confirms the suitability of camera trapping for monitoring elusive carnivores.

Knowledge of genetic diversity is important to wildlife conservation because genetically depleted populations experience an increased risk of extinction. Mammalian carnivores are characterized by small and fragmented populations and low dispersal, so that genetic erosion can lead to the fixation of deleterious genes relatively quickly, leading to morphological abnormalities. Kinked tails and cowlicks are indicative of inbreeding depression and have been described in two wild cat species so far, the puma (Puma concolor) and the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus). Here we report the first records of morphological abnormalities in five populations of the European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris) in Italy by using (1) camera-trapping and (2) necropsy of road-killed individuals assessed through genetic analysis. We collected 24,055 trap-nights from 251 cameras and recorded 566 wildcat detections, from which we identified 148 wildcats. Among these, 11 individuals had a kinked tail and four displayed brachyuria, whereas three wildcats from Sicily had cowlicks on the thorax. We recovered 28 road-killed wildcats and two of them (from Sicily and Friuli Venezia Giulia) had a kinked tail. Among these, one female with a kinked tail had a male foetus with a kinked tail, which proved that this characteristic was genetically inherited. We are unsure why brachyuria or cowlicks were not detected across all monitored wildcat populations, given we found kinked tails throughout Italy. The frequencies at which we have detected these abnormalities in wildcats are far lower than reports from Florida panthers (Puma concolor). Future research is needed to verify whether these abnormalities are also associated with low genetic diversity or other morphological defects which might lower fitness. We recommend a nationwide effort, using these techniques within a standardized sampling design, to further understand the status of the wildcat in Italy.

The European wildcat is a small carnivore widespread across Europe and hybridization with the domestic cat is one of the major threats to wildcats. We estimate the population density of wild-living cats (both wildcats and putative hybrids based on pelage) in the Gargano National Park (Southern Italy). We sampled 20 stations for 540 camera days. We obtained 23 images from 17 detections at 10 cameras, and we identified 10 individuals (6 wildcats and 4 putative hybrids). Population density was estimated at 0.34 ± 0.15 SE wild-living cats/km2. The proportion of putative hybrids indicates an alarming hybridization for this population.

Longevity data for wild felids are lacking in the literature. Here we report a camera trap recapture of a European Wildcat Felis silvestris at Mt. Etna in Sicily, Italy after nine years. This individual was clearly identifiable as its tail ended with a white ring rather than the typical black ring and had a unique shape of the dorsal stripe. At first capture on 26 May 2009, this cat was assessed as an adult, so that the likely minimum age of this individual at the time of recapture on 10 June 2018 must have been be at least 10 years. This finding represents the oldest known European Wildcat in the wild and provides insight into age structure in wildcat populations.

Context. The ranges of many small, at-risk felid species occur almost entirely in unprotected areas, where research efforts are minimal; hence data on their density and activity patterns are scare. Aims. We estimated density and activity patterns of Pallas’s cats on unprotected lands in central Mongolia during two periods (May–August and September–November) in 2019. Methods. We used spatially explicit capture–recapture models to estimate population density at 15.2 ± 4.8 individuals per 100 km2. Key results. We obtained 484 Pallas’s cat images from 153 detections during 4266 camera-days. We identified Pallas’s cats using pelage markings and identified 16 individuals from 64 detections. Pallas’s cat activity was consistent between the two survey periods (~0.50), with cats mainly active during crepuscular hours in the first period and strictly diurnal in the second. Conclusions. We provide the first estimation of a Pallas’s cat population density using camera-trapping. Compared with other methods used, densities were high in our study area, which was likely to be due to a combination of highly suitable habitat and abundant prey. Seasonal shifts in the activity patterns of Pallas’s cats indicated a likely adaptive response to reduced risk of depredation by raptors. Implications. We recommend August to November as the best time for camera-trapping surveys for Pallas’s cats, given their high daily activity and the easiest interpretation of images used for individual identification collected during this time. We also suggest that future camera-trapping surveys of Pallas’s cat be mindful of potential camera-trap avoidance through time.

Human expansion can cause disturbance and intrusion of invasive species, which are detrimental to small carnivores. We investigated how European wildcats responded to disturbance from mushroom collectors, cattle and feral pigs in Sicily, Italy. We used detections from 76 cameras over 2 surveys (2015–2016 and 2018; camera days = 1985) to run occupancy and co-occurrence models and estimate overlap in activity patterns between species pairs. During 2015–2016, wildcats were detected at the same location with cattle, mushroom hunters and feral pigs at 14.4%, 26.3% and 17.1% of cameras. During 2018, wildcats were detected at the same location with cattle, mushroom hunters and feral pigs at 7.8%, 19.7% and 6.5% of cameras. Dominant species (A; cattle, mushroom hunters and feral pigs) did not affect occupancy of the subordinate species (B; wildcats) during 2015–2016. In 2018, the effect of species A on wildcat occupancy was evident for cattle-wildcat and mushroom hunters-wildcat pairs and wildcat occupancy was higher at sites where species A was not present. Probabilities of detecting wildcats at sites where species A was not present or not detected were higher than probabilities of detecting wildcats at sites where species A was detected. Overlap in activity levels was low between mushroom hunters and wildcats and higher between cattle and wildcats, but varied between surveys for feral pig-wildcat pair. Although results differed between survey periods, we suggest that wildcats generally avoided cattle, feral pigs and mushroom hunters, at both temporal and spatial scales. Anthropogenic disturbance, livestock and invasive species are emerging threats to wildcats and future conservation actions should consider our results.

Camera trapping has a wide range of research application, but, while research designs are often focused on the study of a single focal species, cameras can also record other non-target species. Occupancy modeling using by-catch data can be a valuable resource to gain information on these species maximizing the scientific effort and efficiency of wildlife surveys. In this study, we used by-catch data from a European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris) survey in Southern Italy to assess the habitat covariates determinant for the occupancy of the crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata). We recorded 33 detections at 17 out of 51 cameras (naive occupancy = 0.33). The best models fitted the data well, and porcupine occupancy estimate was 0.58 (SE +/- 0.09) with a detection probability of 0.11 (SE +/- 0.03). Average model showed that woodlands and number of shrub patches increased porcupine occupancy, while the reverse was true for altitude. Our results have improved the insights on the habitat use and ecological needs of this understudied species, and it is the first study that develops occupancy models for the porcupine using the presence/absence data obtained from a camera trap survey. Our study is an example of how camera trap surveys are often an under-exploited source of valuable information on a wider spectrum of sympatric species beyond the focal species for which camera traps were deployed. Minimum requirements for a camera trap survey to provide robust occupancy estimates for non-target species are discussed.

International audience; Knowledge of patterns of occupancy is crucial for planning sound biological management and for identifying areas which require paramount conservation attention. The European wildcat Felis silvestris is an elusive carnivore and is classified as ‘least concern' on the IUCN red list, but with a decreasing population trend in some areas. Sicily hosts a peculiar wildcat population, which deserves conservation and management actions, due to its isolation from the mainland. Patterns of occupancy for wildcats are unknown in Italy, and especially in Sicily. We aimed to identify which ecological drivers determined wildcat occurrence on Mt Etna and to provide conservation actions to promote the wildcats’ long-term survival in this peculiar environment. The genetic identity of the wildcat population was confirmed through a scat-collection which detected 22 different wildcat individuals. We analysed wildcat detections collected by 91 cameras using an occupancy frame work to assess which covariates influenced the detection (p) and the occupancy (ψ) estimates. We recorded 70 detections of the target species from 38 cameras within 3377 trap-days. Wildcat detection was positively influenced by the distance to the major paved roads and negatively affected by the presence of humans. Wildcat occupancy was positively associated with mixed forest and negatively influenced by pine forest, fragmentation of mixed forest and altitude. A spatially explicit predicted occupancy map, validated using an independent dataset of wildcat presence records, showed that higher occupancy estimates were scattered, mainly located on the north face and at lower altitude. Habitat fragmentation has been claimed as a significant threat for the wildcat and this is the first study that has ascertained this as a limiting factor for wildcat occurrence. Conservation actions should promote interconnectivity between areas with high predicted wildcat occupancy while minimising the loss of habitat.

The increasing reports of Troglostrongylus brevior lungworm in domestic cats from Italy and Spain raised questions on its factual distribution and on the role wildcats play as reservoirs of these parasites. Carcasses of 21 wildcats were collected in natural parks of southern Italy (i.e., Catania, Sicily n = 5 and Matera, Basilicata n = 16) and biometrically and genetically identified as Felis silvestris silvestris, but two as hybrids. Troglostrongylus brevior and Eucoleus aerophilus lungworms were found in 15 (71.4%) and 7 (33.3%) individuals, respectively, being five (23.8%) co-infected by the two species. Both lungworms showed an aggregated distribution in the host population, assessed by k-index (i.e., 0.69 for T. brevior and 0.42 for E. aerophilus). Although no statistical significant difference was recorded among age, gender and geographical location of wildcats, a larger rate of infection by T. brevior was assessed in yearlings (85.7%) than adults (64.3%). This is the first epidemiological study reporting T. brevior infection in the European wildcat and discusses the potential threat this may represent for the conservation of this endangered species of felids. In addition, given the large frequency of lungworm infection herein recorded, the role of wildcats as reservoir hosts of these parasites to domestic cats is discussed. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.