The Welsh Wildcat Story

We’re excited to open our new native species habitat to raise awareness of endangered wildlife in Wales

In an effort to protect Wales’ declining wildlife and raise awareness around Welsh species, we’ve welcomed two furry new arrivals. Meet ‘Caradog’ and ‘Myrddin’, a pair of male Welsh wildcats who’ve settled into their new home on the zoo – an impressive new exhibit built almost entirely by our talented zoo team!

Caradog, one of our new residents at ‘The Welsh Wildcat Story’ exhibit

Wildcats used to be a common sight throughout Wales, the UK and Europe. They’re slightly larger than a domestic cat and closely resemble a tabby. They’re thought to have been the inspiration behind many Welsh myths and legends – so of course their names, were inspired by characters from Celtic folklore!

Wildcats sadly became extinct in Wales at the end of the 20^th century. If you want to see wildcats outside of captivity today, you will now have to travel to the Scottish Highlands – and even sightings there are rare as the cats are notoriously shy.

Caradog and Myrddin joined us from Scotland, as part of the managed European Breeding Programme for the species. In giving a home to two males, we can help aid wildcat breeding programmes at other zoos, and the pair could even be used for breeding in the future!

Our Zoo Manager said:

“It is more important than ever to protect our native species. 51% of mammals in Wales need urgent action to protect them, or they risk becoming extinct like the wildcat. It is devastating to see our wildlife decrease like this, but there are things we can all do to help. That’s what our Native Species Enclosure is all about.”

Using materials found on-site, our zoo team worked together to build the impressive enclosure highlighting native species, which is now home to Caradog and Myrddin.

Keepers have even built habitats for native bugs and insects with a huge bug hotel!

“We wanted to keep everything as local as possible including the materials and plants used. We even had the very generous donation of whisky barrels from Penderyn Distillery, which we have used to create the wildcats’ nesting boxes.”

Guests can also see other native species at the new enclosure, including (the super adorable) harvest mice – the smallest rodents in the UK – and some white-clawed crayfish are also due to join us soon!

Harvest Mice are another native species at the new zoo exhibit

The zoo team continued:

“The project has two aims. We want to highlight all this wildlife that was once really common in Wales, and remind people that if we don’t take action, more and more of these species will disappear. It’s important to remember that wildlife conservation starts at home. We don’t have to travel far and wide to make a difference. Simple things like building bird boxes or bug hotels to put in our gardens are a great first step to protecting the precious local wildlife.
“We’re very excited to be taking this step to further protect native species at Folly Farm, and we can’t wait for the public to meet Caradog and Myrddin.”