BASIC INFORMATION
TITLE: Wildcat – A Flagship Species for Biodiversity Conservation!
Programme: Interreg Slovakia – Czech Republic 2021–2027
START DATE: 1 August 2025
END DATE: 31 July 2027
FINANCIAL SUPPORT: The project is financed under the Interreg VI-A Slovakia – Czech Republic programme
TOTAL BUDGET: €756,510.33
EU CONTRIBUTION: €605,208.28
WEBSITE: https://www.sk-cz.eu/
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The project “Wildcat – A Flagship Species for Biodiversity Conservation!” is a cross-border initiative involving Czech and Slovak partners within the Interreg Slovakia – Czech Republic 2021–2027 programme.
The previous project, Looking for the Wildcat! demonstrated the presence of wildcats in the programme area and established a monitoring methodology. This follow-up project expands wildcat monitoring into new areas of the Czech–Slovak border region, particularly on the Czech side, and focuses more closely on factors affecting their occurrence. It intensifies monitoring of hybridization with domestic cats, which has been confirmed as a significant threat to the wildcat population in this region. The project also addresses the health status of the population (including screening for viruses transmitted from domestic cats) and studies habitat selection by wildcats through telemetry tracking of selected individuals. Furthermore, it analyses habitat quality in areas occupied by wildcats in terms of structure and food availability (trapping of small terrestrial mammals).
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
In addition to fostering active cross-border cooperation and collecting essential scientific data for species conservation, the project aims to produce two strategic documents for nature conservation authorities, addressing hybridization and habitat protection. It also promotes public education through expert workshops and other awareness-raising activities focused on biodiversity conservation in the region.
PARTNERS
Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences (Ústav biologie obratlovců AV ČR, v.v.i.)
Technical University in Zvolen (Technická univerzita vo Zvolene)
Hnutí DUHA Šelmy
Mendel University in Brno
Bojnice National Zoological Garden
