Highland Tiger

Kitty cat makes a pur-rr-fect Highland Tiger

Fri, 19 July 2010 00:00:01 GMT

The kitten was the only one born to mum Seasaidh and is still to be sexed and named.

One of 12 wildcats at HWP, the Scottish wildcat is now one of Britain's rarest mammals and is in serious danger of extinction. As the only remaining native feline, the arrival of a new kitten is an important boost to captive populations as well as a beautiful new addition for visitors to see.

As Douglas Richardson, Animal Collection Manager at the Highland Wildlife Park, said: �From latest estimates, the Highland tiger - as the Scottish wildcat is also known - is more rare than some of its larger cousins such as the Amur tiger that can also be seen here. Historically they were hunted for fur and killed as vermin but more recently disease and vehicle collisions have also taken their toll. However, the greatest risk they face is interbreeding with domestic cats; extinction by dilution. The remote Highlands provide a last refuge for this endangered cat that once occurred throughout the Britain.�

Wildcat team let loose!

Mon, 22 June 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Our friendly and knowledgeable wildcat team will be attending the Scottish Game Fair at Scone on July 2^nd- 4^th and the Moy Field Sports Fair on August 6^th and 7^th.
These are both excellent opportunities to come along and find out more about the project and speak to some of the people involved.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Updated Species Action Framework from SNH

Wed, 17 June 2010 00:00:01 GMT

You can find out more about the Scottish Wildcat and what action is being taken for this amazing species, and other 'National Treasures' by heading over to the Scottish Natural Heritage pages. They have released the updated Species Action Framework which is the 'strategic approach to species management in Scotland'. So if you would like to find out what is planned then there is plenty to read about.

Wildcats get colourful in Newtonmore

, 7 June 2010 00:00:01 GMT

On Saturday 12th June the Newtonmore Community Woodland & Development Trust are launching the Wildcat Experience. There will be lots of colourful cats around the village and Wildcat Trail, you can track them all down and find out more about one of the most amazing animals around - the Highland Tiger.

To take part you need to head to the Wildcat Centre which is next to the Village Hall on the main street of Newtonmore.

We hope you enjoy it, and good luck for tracking them all down.

Highland Tiger in London

, 28 May 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Wildcat fan Karen Thomas will be running the BUPA 10K race in London this Monday the 31st in support of Highland Tiger. She'll be dressed as a wildcat, making the race even more arduous, especially if it's a hot day (rather her than me!). We are delighted she has chosen to run the race to raise money for Highland Tiger and she has already raised over �500. This money will go straight to the conservation fund where it will be used to further wildcat conservation and research in the Cairngorms National Park, e.g. by purchasing more camera traps to help us monitor the elusive wildcat population. There is still time for last minute pledges so please check out Karen's sponsorship page at rzss.workwithus.org

Good luck Karen!

Local wildlife can't wait to be snapped!

Sat, 20 May 2010 00:00:01 GMT

David Hetherington and the team have been building up an impressive photographic collection of Cairngorms wildlife with the use of the camera traps.
You can check out the list and some of the pictures on the blog.

Facebook Hits 1000!

Tue, 23 April 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Fan numbers for Highland Tiger on Facebook have made it over 1000.
Thank you to everyone who is supporting us, if you're not already a fan then head to facebook and join us to see fan photos and talk to others who share your love of this amazing animal.

Camera trapping update

Mon, 1 July 2010 00:00:01 GMT

We've had a few interesting camera trap photos recently. I'd set up a cam in a deserted and disused steading in the north of the National Park in response to someone letting me know about a stripy cat they'd caught a glimpse of there. I must admit I was fully expecting it to be a tabby feral cat. However, within a few days I got several photos of the cat below, and its markings (such as its ringed tail without a stripe running down its length) suggest it is probably a wildcat hybrid.

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One of the gamekeepers at the Atholl Estate set up one of our camera traps at a log across a stream which he reckoned was being used as a natural bridge by some of the local wildlife, possibly a wildcat. However, so far, he's got lots of photos of several different pine martens running across the log. Intriguingly, the martens seem to have a one-way system as the vast majority of the photos show the martens going in one direction only. Presumably, there's another log further up- or downstream where they all come back the other way! The photo below was taken by one of our cams on the Glenlivet Estate.

As of tomorrow, myself and other members of the team will variously be on hand over the course of the three days of the Scottish Game Fair at Scone near Perth. We'll be at the Highland Tiger stall in the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust's marquee, so if you're around, pop in for a chat.

Neutering feral cats in the Cairngorms National Park

Tue, 23 June 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Apologies for the lack of updating lately! I've been very busy recently with unspectacular administrative work, but there have also been some positive Project developments in the past month or so. I had a very productive meeting with enthusiastic representatives from all the Cats Protection volunteer branches which cover the Cairngorms National Park to discuss how best to intensify and expand the Trap Neuter & Return (TNR) of feral cats around settlements and farms in the Cairngorms National Park. This work should help a great deal in reducing the likelihood of feral cats and wildcats interbreeding and producing hybrid offspring. Feral cats taken in for neutering also get screened for potential fatal diseases such as feline leukaemia virus, so by intensifying TNR we may also help to reduce the prevalence of diseases which could seriously harm wildcats. The return of healthy, neutered cats to farms where they were caught means that they can continue their pest control function in the farm buildings without putting at risk the endangered wildcat population in the surrounding countryside. One of the things that was clear from the meeting we had, is that more volunteers will be required to assist with the TNR work so that it can be targetted at areas where wildcats are most at risk. So if you're interested in lending a hand with this, and gaining some valuable wildlife management experience at the same time, then watch this space for further details on how you can apply to be a volunteer.

Scottish Wildcat Survey 2006-08

Sat, 20 May 2010 00:00:01 GMT

The recently published Scottish Wildcat Survey, which was commissioned by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), one of the partners of the Cairngorms Wildcat Project, confirms the Cairngorms National Park as a stronghold for the Scottish wildcat, with other significant occurrences elsewhere in northeastern Scotland and in parts of the western Highlands. The survey report can be downloaded from the SNH website here, although it is a large file and may take a while.

Talk in Ballater on Saturday 22nd

Fri, 19 May 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Just a wee note to say I'll be giving a public talk about the Cairngorms Wildcat Project in Ballater this Saturday at 6pm in the Victoria & Albert Hall. The event is part of the Cairngorms Big Biobuzz Day.

All creatures great and small

Fri, 19 May 2010 00:00:01 GMT

It's been a while since the last update but the all the while the camera traps have been quietly getting on with their job of snapping the local wildlife. With the help of the gamekeeper, I've set up cameras on an estate in Donside and the Project recently got its first photos of badger (see above) and hedgehog. Although we had wildcats in mind, we've now built up an impressive and growing list of wildlife by-catch on our camera traps across the National Park, including the golden eagle featured in a previous blog-post. Since camera-trapping started early in the year, we've recorded the following:

Wildcat, Feral cat, Badger, Pine marten, Stoat, Otter, Fox, Brown hare, Mountain hare, Rabbit, Hedgehog, Wood mouse, Red deer, Roe deer, Black grouse, Pheasant, Golden eagle, Great tit, Raven.

Fantastic media coverage for the Highland Tiger!

Sat, 20 April 2010 00:00:01 GMT

It has been a fantastically successful week for raising awareness about the plight of the Scottish wildcat. Following on from coverage in many UK newspapers and on the web about the launch of the new first class postage stamp, there was a great double page spread about wildcat conservation in the Observer newspaper on Sunday. And then on Monday things went ballistic when the BBC had an article about our camera-trapping endeavours on their news website. By mid morning the article was the third most read and the second most shared on the entire BBC news website, beaten only by the travel chaos across Europe caused by an erupting volcano! By late Monday afternoon the wildcat article had been visited over 750,000 times, with 25% of visitors coming from outwith the UK! As well as BBC radio and TV coverage, the story was picked up by several UK newspapers and even more websites around the world. Brilliant stuff which all helps in the fight to save the wildcat from extinction. The more people who know about wildcats, the more people who care. And the more people who care, the easier it is to achieve successful conservation of the species. It helps create a solid public knowledge-base on which important, more specific messages can be built - e.g. the need for responsible cat ownership.

Postponed to Monday!

Tue, 16 April 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Perhaps not surprisingly, an Icelandic volcano making northern Europe a no-fly zone is dominating the news here in Scotland and elsewhere, so the wildcat coverage has now been postponed by the BBC until Monday.