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[The CIVIS Newsroom ](https://civis.eu/sv/the-civis-newsroom) 2. Human activity is influencing the behavior of Germany’s wildcats Human activity is influencing the behavior of Germany’s wildcats ================================================================== CIVIS Highlights 16 mars 2026 The European wildcat started to leave the forest and is increasingly using agricultural land as hunting grounds. This has been observed in some parts of Germany, especially in summer when grain crops provide cover. The behavioral change is seen as a response to pressure from human influences such as the fragmentation or destruction of forest areas and more intense agriculture. The study has been published in the journal [Plos One](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0343705). ![](https://civis.eu/storage/files/wildcat.jpg)Wildcat on the hunt in a field of grain – outside its usual forest habitat / artist’s impression by Peter Nickolaus©A cat’s lifestyle is indirectly documented in its hair by the isotopic signature of what it has eaten. Thus, a research team led by Dr. Chris Baumann and Dr. Dorothée Drucker from the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen analyzed isotopes preserved in hair to determine where animals hunt. The team is now seeking to use this non-invasive isotopic analysis to track long-term ecological changes in wildcat behavior and to gather more data to help protect these shy animals. In this work, zoological collections comprise valuable long-term archives and provide samples for historical comparison. ### In danger among people The European wildcat (*Felis silvestris*) has been protected in Germany since 1935. In recent decades, it has spread both in Germany and the rest of Europe. They are usually active at dusk and dawn, and are solitary creatures which stay close to their territory and normally avoid humans. Yet now they are being sighted on roads and in human settlements with increasing frequency. > *Undisturbed forest areas, which are ideal habitats for wildcats, are shrinking, and there is a high risk of them being run over on our roads,* says Chris Baumann. And this is not the only danger: stray, feral, or free-roaming domestic cats (*Felis catus*) also pose a threat to wildcats, as they can transmit diseases or influence their genetic pool through crossbreeding. No new samples needed --------------------- To further research wildcats in Germany, the team is focusing on their diet. This indirectly reveals the developments to which animals are adapting, where they live, and which other species they compete with. All this using samples of hair already collected in previous studies. In addition, the University of Jena’s Phyletic Museum has stored wildcat hair samples from Thuringia over the past 26 years; some of these came from animals killed in road accidents. The team analyzed the samples from the three regions for patterns of stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur. These atoms of the same chemical element with different masses yield patterns, or “signatures,” that are characteristic of organisms from specific regions and with specific diets. *“The isotopic signature in the cells of the animals the cats ate, or from the food provided by humans, is incorporated into the cats’ isotopic signature*”, explains Baumann. Interpreting the data is a complex business, but the team was able to draw some reliable conclusions: > *Wildcats, especially those in the Taunus population, which lived in their typical forest habitat, had a fairly uniform isotopic signature; they were highly specialized ecologically. The hybrids, on the other hand, occupied a broad ecological niche; their isotopic signature overlapped significantly with that of the wildcats in regions where both species coexist.* There was little overlap between domestic cats and wildcats, with little competition between them for food. But in Thuringia, the carbon isotope values, especially in fur grown in summer, indicated the wildcats were taking an increasing proportion of their prey from agricultural land. This study contributes to the monitoring of wildcat populations in Germany. It also helps establish the non-invasive, retrospective method of isotope monitoring, which allows researchers to use archived tissue. **Find out more from the** [**original story, in German**](https://uni-tuebingen.de/universitaet/aktuelles-und-%20publikationen/pressemitteilungen/newsfullview-pressemitteilungen/article/wie-sich-das-leben-der-%20wildkatzen-durch-menschliche-einfluesse-veraendert/)**.** Related news ------------ - [ ![](https://civis.eu/storage/files/exu-pollmann1-full-800x600.jpg?token=99c089f73cbbe9f8a96db2beb92b7cbe)University of Tübingen retains its status as a University of Excellence under the German government’s Excellence Strategy CIVIS Highlights 20 april 2026 ](https://civis.eu/sv/the-civis-newsroom/university-of-tubingen-retains-its-status-as-a-university-of-excellence-under-the-german-government-s-excellence-strategy) - [ ![](https://civis.eu/storage/files/litter2-simontaal-800x600.jpg?token=0e55d70613b6069956c6e9518fb72207)Litter in the Rhine River: some 53,000 items of litter flow past Cologne daily CIVIS Highlights 4 februari 2026 ](https://civis.eu/sv/the-civis-newsroom/litter-in-the-rhine-river-some-53-000-items-of-litter-flow-past-cologne-daily) - [ ![](https://civis.eu/storage/files/leaves-c-jeff-jones-800x600.jpg?token=d97ad4cdece1a3cd2e97d109ebef9b31)Pathogen hijacks fruit ripening programme in citrus plants CIVIS Highlights 12 januari 2026 ](https://civis.eu/sv/the-civis-newsroom/pathogen-hijacks-fruit-ripening-program-in-citrus-plants) [Upptäck alla våra berättelser](https://civis.eu/sv/the-civis-newsroom) [ Ernestos civizenresa: Att vara en länk mellan studenter och ett stort europeiskt projekt ](< https://civis.eu/sv/the-civis-newsroom/ernesto-s-civis-journey-from-first-year-student-to-european-ambassador >) [ När konst säger mer än rubriker: CIVIS Open Lab-deltagarna hittar tillbaka till hemmets betydelse ](< https://civis.eu/sv/the-civis-newsroom/when-art-speaks-louder-than-headlines-civis-open-lab-reclaims-the-meaning-of-home >) ![CIVIS – Europe’s Civic University Alliance](https://civis.eu/build/assets/civis-CCpvK1nT.svg) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Europe’s Civic University Alliance ![Co-funded by the European Union](https://civis.eu/build/assets/co-funded-by-the-european-union-DSKLW1us.png)Views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). 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