Two ERDF-funded cross-border projects are helping to preserve the rare European wildcat and ensure this reclusive feline, and other species, can migrate freely through expansive green spaces.
Double conservation effort has European wildcat purring
- 16 April 2021
The Interreg Connecting Nature AT-CZ project found growing evidence of these shy cats in Austria’s Thayatal National Park and the Wachau Valley, 75 kilometres apart. They were captured on cameras activated by motion sensors.
Researchers used wooden stakes scented with the herb valerian against which the cats love to rub themselves, to get hair samples which were subsequently sent for genetic analysis.
The project’s overall goal was to create cross-border ecoystems and preserve biodiversity, in line with the EU’s Green Infrastructure Strategy.
The Thayatal is one of nine case-study areas included in the MaGICLandscapes project that involved partners from Germany, Italy, Poland, Czechia and Austria. As part of their efforts to promote sustainable land use and educate landowners, researchers studied the migration routes of wildcats, the lynx and wolf.
Both projects ended in 2020. MaGICLandscapes received ERDF funding of EUR 1.7 million, from a total budget of EUR 2.2 million. The fund supported Connecting Nature with EUR 1.8 million.
More information
Programme/Project: Central Europe, Interreg V-A - Austria-Czech Republic,
MaGICLandscapes, Connecting Nature
Source article on: http://www.stadtlandzeitung.com/ on 04/04/2021