Conservationists are pleased with the first sighting since 2003: a hunter discovered the shy cat near Obertauern in Salzburg. She probably comes from Carinthia. It is uncertain whether she will stay.
Bigger, bulkier and significantly shyer than the cat purring on the couch indoors: the first wild cat in 21 years was spotted in Salzburg! “A hunter spotted the animal in November, but only now reported it to our feral cat hotline,” said Tobias Grasegger of the Nature Conservation Association. Even though there is great joy, the experts are cautious: the sighting at Obertauern has not yet been confirmed by a DNA sample.
To do this, conservationists place sticks in the forest that are sprayed with valerian essence. “The wild cat is attracted to it and rubs itself against it,” Grasegger explains. “There remains hair that is being examined.” In addition, wildlife cameras are activated when there is movement – if this is successful, there could also be the first photographic evidence of the wild cat in Salzburg.
But where does the wild cat suddenly come from? The very shy animals were almost exterminated in Central Europe at the end of the 18th century. “The feral cat was thought to be dangerous and reduced the wild population,” Grasegger explains. When that was not correct, because mice, birds and insects were on the menu, reintroduction began in the late 1920s. In Salzburg, however, the population recovered only slowly. Grasegger suspects that the spotted cat comes from Carinthia, where a larger population lives: “I believe there are other animals passing through Salzburg.”
Source: Krone
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