I trapped what I thought was a stray tabby at the edge of the Jura forest: when I finally looked at its tail, it was already too late
A chance encounter with what appears to be an ordinary tabby cat near the Jura forest could spiral into a conservation nightmare. The subtle features that distinguish Europe’s most elusive wildcat from a common domestic cat—especially that distinctive thick, ringed tail—are far easier to miss than wildlife experts would like, and the legal consequences of getting it wrong are severe.