TROPIQUARIA'S rare female Scottish Wild Cat called Damson is being set up with a male from Kingussie in Scotland with the hope that the two will mate.

Research over the past few years has revealed that the Scottish Wild Cat is on the verge of extinction, due to the efforts of gamekeepers in the past, and more recently hybridization with domestic cats.

Many of the Scottish Wild Cats currently at large in Scotland are in fact hybrids and there have been suggestions that there could be less than 100 pure bred animals alive in the wild.

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has been conducting a survey and asked for blood samples and pictures from Scottish Wild Cats held in captivity.

Zoological director at Tropiquaria Chris Moiser said: "We did think our middle-aged female cat Damson had some domestic genes in her, from her coat pattern, but when requested we did let the RZSS have a blood sample earlier this year.

"We were delighted to receive the RZSS recommendations last month that suggested we take a male from Kingussie and attempt to breed at least one litter of kittens from her.

"As the breeding season starts in February we immediately started preparing for our new arrival in order to let him get used to us before next year. This weekend our deputy head-keeper, went up to Scotland to collect him."

Mr Moiser said that the male would not be on show initially because of the need to get paperwork from Defra in relation to his endangered species status.

"Interestingly European Wild cats generally are listed as being of least concern by IUCN, but our subspecies, now called the Scottish Wildcat is on the verge of extinction," Mr Moiser added.

"In fact although called the Scottish Wild Cat it once roamed over most of England and Wales, and fittingly Somerset may have been one of the last counties in which it hung on, on the edge of Exmoor, possibly until the start of the 20th century."