Censos_Gato_Montes_repositorio

The wildcat is typically found in low densities. Here, we estimated wildcat abundance in an ancient human-transformed landscape of cattle pastures in northern Iberian Peninsula, and their patterns of intra-annual and daily use of pastures. We censused wildcats three times daily (morning, afternoon and night) by linear transect method from a car during four summers. We also carried out four monthly tracks (two in the morning and two in the afternoon) for a complete year. Overall, we recorded 195 wildcats (97.4% in pastures). Thirteen different wildcats were identified and only 29.9% of total records could be assigned to a wildcat. The number of wildcats sighted decreased especially during the last year, when sightings were 52–67% lower than in previous years. Wildcats were seen significantly more during the morning and night censuses than during the afternoon ones. Estimated annual summer densities for the whole study area were between 0.09-0.17 individuals/km2 for the three first years, and on pasture areas ranged between 0.11-0.46 ind/km2. Throughout the year, wildcats were observed 5.9 times more during the second half than during the first half of the year. Our results on wildcat abundance should be taken with caution since they may indicate the use of cattle pastures rather than actual wildcat density in the study area. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that the ancient human-transformed landscapes for cattle pastures are an important habitat for wildcats in northern Iberian Peninsula, and conserving these areas should be important to maintaining wildcat populations.