wild cat (Puma) faces endangerment in Europe, with humans responsible for a large share of fatalities. An international study assessing factors affecting survival offers crucial data for reducing road-related deaths and other human-causes, which remain the leading threat to this species.
European populations, protected under the Bern Convention and the Habitats Directive of the European Union, suffer from habitat fragmentation, scarce prey, and hybridization with domestic cats. Yet the most significant danger comes from human activities rather than natural factors.
Despite these concerns, knowledge about how different subpopulations respond to threats, including potential increases or decreases in mortality, remains limited.
A consortium of 34 researchers from 31 institutions across 10 European countries, part of the European Network wild cat, conducted the first large-scale assessment across Europe. For the study, 211 individuals were monitored with radio transmitters in 22 study areas spanning the continent, including Spain, to determine survival rates and the causes of death.
Researchers, including several Spaniards, confirmed that variables related to human disturbance and environmental change influence survival probabilities.
The results show that wildcat mortality in Europe is largely driven by human factors, with road fatalities and poaching accounting for 57% and 22% of annual deaths, respectively. The estimated annual survival probability is 92% for females and 84% for males.
Most deaths occur on major roads
Road density strongly affects annual survival. An increase of one kilometer of major roads per square kilometer in a given area raises the risk of death by about ninefold. In contrast, less busy secondary and local roads have a much smaller impact on annual mortality.
The study provides essential parameters for population viability analyses and informs future planning to maintain sub-critical road densities in key wildcat habitats. It also identifies conditions under which the installation of fences and gate structures would likely reduce road deaths.
The research sought to clarify the current status and population trends of wildcats, since there has been no recent large-scale European assessment. The wildcat weighs between 2 and 5.5 kilograms and can reach lengths up to around 125 centimeters. Its distribution in Europe is fragmented, ranging from southern Italy to Scotland and from Portugal to Romania.
European populations are divided into five major genetic groups representing different biogeographic units. The species is strictly protected by European law and appears on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
At-risk status in Spain
In Spain, the wildcat is also threatened with extinction. Habitat loss due to ongoing human occupation and agricultural expansion has an especially strong impact on Iberian populations, increasing the risk of contact and hybridization with domestic cats. This hybridization can lead to mixed populations and genetic dilution.
The expansion of agriculture also drives a notable decline in the Spanish wildcat. For decades, the species has been persecuted out of fear for crops and domestic animals. Pesticides and poisons contribute to declines by reducing the wildcat’s primary prey species, including rabbits, rodents, and other small mammals.
Wildcats in Spain inhabit forested areas that are often isolated from urban centers. They occur across the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, primarily thriving in Mediterranean ecosystems such as maquis. In Spain there are three subspecies of wildcat: one in the south near the Ebro and Duero rivers, another in the northern peninsula, and a third, Felis lybica jordan, on Mallorca.
Reference note: citation available to readers through Elsevier records.
European wildcat information is summarized by organizations focusing on this species.