“In the abandoned chestnut groves of the Apennines I discovered (and photographed) the wild cat”

Staying stationed for hours in the cold, after having entered the most inaccessible areas of the Ligurian Apennines, waiting for elusive animals such as the wolf and the wild cat to indulge in his camera, was for a long time Paolo Rossi “an intimate and personal passion”. Twenty years have passed since the first photos that this 38-year-old Genoese, now a non-academic authority in his field, provided to scientific research and the “intimate passion” has become a popularizer’s job, without losing its original spirit.

Two years after the publication of Felis – Sarvaego catthe book that provided certain evidence of the presence of the wild cat (Felis silvestris) in Liguria, Rossi, together with Nicholas Rebora, launches a fundraiser to create a photographic book with unpublished images of felines and other wild animals, a testament to the beauty of the natural environments in the Apennine mountains in the provinces of Genoa, Alessandria, Pavia and Piacenza. It is in this labyrinth of valleys covered by dense vegetation and characterized by extremely steep slopes that the wild cat, a species threatened with extinction, seems to have found its ideal habitat.

Documenting the presence of the wild cat has not only scientific value: “Taking care of the Felis silvestris it is above all to provide further evidence of the biodiversity of our Apennines – explains Rossi – In our territory, after the disappearance of the lynxes exterminated in the early nineteenth century, only he remains as a wild feline. For its ability to hunt, to camouflage itself among rocks and tree barks, for its charm, it is no less important than the snow leopard: it is a unique ambassador of its kind”.

In Rossi’s studies the wild cat occupies a particular place, even if his intention remains to document the presence of several species. “We were pioneers in the photography of wolves – he says – in 2008 the photos of specimens in the wild were very rare. In those years we went into the wildest areas in search of packs, discovering the wild cat was completely unexpected”. Different techniques are needed to photograph different animals: “Wolves move a lot, you just need to lurk in areas where droppings or signs of predation have been found. The wild cat, on the other hand, manages to effectively hunt small rodents such as dormice, squirrels and the voles in small portions of the territory, sheltered from its predators such as the golden eagle and owls.In addition to our stalking for wolves – says Rossi – we had placed a video trap on a path in the upper Trebbia valley and found the shot of a cat wild was a great emotion”.

The photographer immediately sent the photo to industry experts to be sure it was the real thing Felis silvestriswhich compared to the domestic cat has a more massive build, gray-brown fur faded on the sides, often with white spots on the throat, chest and belly and always with a black stripe along the back, the bushy tail with a rounded black tip, often with 2-3 clearly visible black rings and the tip of the nose always pink.

“Once we verified that it was indeed a wild cat or servantas they say in dialect, we learned even better the details of the species and started looking for it in wilder environments, such as very old abandoned chestnut groves, where no one goes anymore to collect and there are majestic plants full of life, excellent shelters for the cat wild”, explains the photographer who after graduating as an agricultural expert “preferred experiences in the woods to university classrooms”.

“Even now that I no longer need to do any kind of work to finance my passion – underlines Rossi – I have not changed my technique and my priority is to photograph animals with minimal disturbance. Most of the photos of wild cats are made by attracting them with wooden stakes sprinkled with valerian, which has an irresistible smell for them.We prefer to have fewer photos, but which capture the animals in natural attitudes, while they rub themselves to leave their smell on a felled chestnut tree or while marking their territory We also decide not to use flash, to have more natural photos: in this we are helped by the fact that often the noise of the click causes the cat to immobilize itself, an incredible ability that is precious to us. It is always a good challenge, however, we take few photos but very particular and the peak of joy is when we demonstrate the presence of animals in new areas”.

The photographer insists a lot on the ethical aspect of his work: “Often even those with good intentions end up disturbing the animals – he observes – even camera trapping creates noise and useless incursions to check the results too often. Every time we go into old abandoned mule tracks or ridges where nobody has passed for years we do it with the respect and awe of those who realize how extraordinary it is to come into contact with these woods”. Rossi and Rebora’s passion has now also become a precious support for science: thanks to the researcher Stefano Anil photos and information collected in their field activity will enter a large database of independent camera trappers.