forest cats are making a discreet comeback

It is a group of researchers who recently spotted forest cats in the forest in Escoussens (Tarn). Until now, the felines walked there with agility and discretion. It was thanks to 25 bristle brushes and several camera traps that the researchers ended up discovering the presence of the species with very specific physical characteristics. “We will have four black lines on the back of the neck, and the back of the black legs (…) it will have green pupils and a pink nose, and imposing whiskers turned up downwards.“, describes Maxime Belaux, in charge of mammal studies within the Natures en Occitanie association.

If the characteristics leave little room for doubt, it is the DNA of the cats identified that will make it possible to fully remove the doubt about their species. The researchers therefore collect the hairs left by forest cats, on the brushes placed in the area. “We received the first results of analysis and it turned out that there was indeed a population of forest cats of pure stock, present under the massif of the Montagne Noire.“, declares Maxime Belaux, about the species formerly hunted for its fur, and protected since 1981.