Wildcats to be released in secret Scottish sites in effort to avoid extinction

Animals to be introduced during next three years but ecologists say they still face survival challenges

About 20 specially bred wildcats are being released at secret locations in the Scottish Highlands by conservationists hoping to save the species from extinction in the UK.

The animals were raised in captivity at a wildlife park in the Cairngorms as part of a breeding programme run by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which is expected to release up to 60 cats into the wild over the next three years.