A few weeks ago, a forest cat was filmed in the Bauges massif thanks to a camera trap. Protected since 1979, this species remains rare in the Alps. But it gradually reappears in the two Savoys. “Good news for biodiversity,” wildlife campaigners say.
Agile and discreet, the cat observed at the end of 2022 in Bauges looks like a domestic cat. Same build, same hair, except he has a bushy tail that ends in one black point.
“He can also be recognized by the thick black line that runs along his back” adds Vianney Bajarthvolunteer for the Association for the Protection of Birds. It was thanks to a camera trap installed in a forest in Bauges that he managed to film the animal.
It is often called, erroneously, the wild cat. Although it keeps its distance from humans, the forest cat is a subspecies in itself. It feeds on small rodents, such as voles and mice, but also small birds.
Once hunted, the Felix Silvestris silvestris has been nationally protected since 1979. Since then, its population, mainly present in northeastern France, has retaken territories further south. In the Rhône-Alpes, it quickly arrived in the Isère, especially in the Chartreuse massif, as well as in the Loire and Auvergne. The species then gradually colonized the eastern part of the region, as in the Bauges Massif, where Vianney Bajarth filmed the forest cat.
Today, it is in Ain that the cat is most present, because the department represents 2/3 of the observations made at regional level.
After all, the forest cat remains a rare species and very difficult to observe. “It is a species that flees from humans, it is very difficult to see it in person, emphasizes the naturalist. This species was no longer present with us, but we are seeing it arrive more and more and that is good news. At the moment, we often talk about the collapse of biodiversity. But this return of the forest cat shows that there is also good news.”
In October 2021, Vianney Bajarth managed to film two kittens with his automatic camera (see video below). Reproduction, estimated at two or three kittens per litter. litter, guarantees the development of the species on the national territory. But it is also the biggest threat to the cat.
According to the website Atlas of Mammals in AURAwhich lists wild species in the region, the biggest risk to forest cats is hybridization. That is, the crossing with a domestic cat. He is more fertile than their wild cousins and tends to mate with forest females outside of the species’ normal estrous period. “The problem with this hybridization is that it gradually dilutes the forest cat’s genetic heritage” explains Vianney Bajarth.
The progressive disappearance of the forest habitat contributes to this hybridization, as it increases the risk of encounter between the two subspecies. In Auvergne, researchers conducted DNA analyzes to try to find out the degree of hybridization of individuals.
For France Nature Environnement and the League for the Protection of Birds, one of the solutions to this problem would be to carry out information campaigns among owners of domestic cats.