Turkey’s jungle cat population identified

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Seventy-one adult jungle cats have been identified in Akyatan area in Turkey. DHA photo

Forty-four jungle cats have been identified in the Akyatan Wildlife Conservation and Development Area through a World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-Turkey project supported by Doğa College.

The project used motion-triggered cameras to determine the population of jungle cats in Turkey for the first time, according to a written statement made by WWF-Turkey. The project aims to protect the jungle cats in the Akyatan area.

Between 2011 and 2012, 44 adult jungle cats were identified in the Akyatan Wildlife Conservation and Development Area, the statement said, adding that the preservation of jungle cats, an endangered species, depends on the protection of their living space in Akyatan.

WWF-Turkey general director Tolga Baştak said the project results would help with the development of protection criteria to help the continuation of the species.

“When we compared the visuals of 44 jungle cats identified last year and 38 ones that were identified the year before, we observed that 11 of them were the same. In this way, the project sets population of jungle cats at 71,” Baştak said.