In an effort to bring the rare Scottish wildcat back from the brink of extinction, conservationists have released 19 young wildcats, which were bred in captivity, throughout the Cairngorms National Park in the Scottish Highlands. The Scottish wildcat, or Felis silvestris, is the last surviving native wildcat in the UK, according to National Museums Scotland. […]
Tag: scottish highlands
Pine martens could be reintroduced to England after a 150-year absence
Critically endangered pine martens could be reintroduced to the south west of England following a 150-year absence. A coalition of conservation organisations including the National Trust, the Devon Wildlife Trust and the Woodland Trust hope the nocturnal mammals could be released as early as autumn 2024. They are working with both the Exmoor and Dartmoor […]
Wild lynx could be reintroduced into Scottish Highlands
A consortium of conservationists that hopes to release wild lynx into the Scottish Highlands has launched a year-long study to see whether the public supports their reintroduction. The study, part-funded by two billionaire Danish estate owners in the Highlands, Anders Povlsen and Lisbet Rausing, will test whether farmers, landowners and rural communities will agree to […]
Scotland’s mountain hare population is at just 1% of 1950’s level
Culling by grouse moor managers is being blamed for the drastic decline of mountain hares on eastern Scottish moorlands to less than 1% of the level recorded more than 60 years ago. A long-term study by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and the RSPB analysed counts of the animals on moorland managed for red […]
Speyside
Mrs D and I have just returned home from a week in the Scottish highlands joining up with son Dan and his good wife Mary and their two young children Martha and Theo. We were based in Nethybridge which is in easy reach of all the wildlife hotspots. Although more of a family holiday I […]