Highland Tiger

Highland Land Mammals Atlas available

Fri, 19 December 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Over the last 12 years there have been over 25,000 records of 37 species of land mammals which can be found in the Highland area.

The Atlas of Highland Land Mammals has been published by the Highland Biological Recording Group (HBRG). The atlas includes maps and four pages of colour photos.

It can be purchased from the HBRG and costs �7.

Country Estate living for the wildcat

Tue, 2 December 2011 00:00:01 GMT

As part of the Highland Tiger project we are using camera traps around the Cairngorms area to gain a better insight into the wildcats that live there.

The money raised through the project is funding new cameras and one of the Highland Tiger team, Roo Campbell, with the help of Andrew Airnes has been setting up the traps around some of the estates in the area.
Here is just one of the images that has been caught so far.

To see more follow the link below to our Facebook page.

A new cat pose for every month

Mon, 15 November 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Yes that's right, the amazing Scottish wildcat is being featured in a new calendar for 2012.

The photographer Trevor D. Russell has put the calendar together and it contains some brilliant shots of the Scottish Deer Centre's cats.

As well as Trevor being fantastically generous by allowing us to use his photos on the Facebook page and helping us to spead the word of wildcat, he has also kindly decided to donate 30% of the profits from the sale of the calendar to Highland Tiger!

Massive thanks from everyone in the team.

Cairngorm Brewery keeping up the good work

, 28 October 2011 00:00:01 GMT

For every bottle of Wildcat Ale sold the Cairngorm Brewery donate money to the Highland Tiger project. So far over the last ywo years they have almost sold a whopping 100,000 bottles!

Thanks to the people at the brewery the project can buy new camera equipment to help in the study of these amazing, elusive animals.

This is a huge boost to the project currently working mainly in the area of the Cairngorms National Park. We would like to say a massive thank you to the brewery and all the folks who have enjoyed a bottle of Wildcat Ale.

Wildcats added to the PTES British Mammal Report

Wed, 10 October 2011 00:00:01 GMT

The People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) has recently released its State of British Mammals 2011.

This document is the 10th anniversary edition of their annual research and conservation report. It is written with the help of the University of Oxford's Wildlife Conservation and Research Unit (WildCRU) and focuses on how the different species populations have done over the past decade.

We're pleased to say that the Scottish wildcat has been added to the report though unfortunately it is because their numbers are still declining. Hopefully this publication will help to get the plight of many of our endangered mammal species to a wider audience.

What's new pussy cat?

Wed, 3 October 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Two-year-old bachelor Fluffy and more experienced five-year-old female Betty have been getting to know each other after Highland Wildlife Park keepers introduced them four weeks ago.

Animal Collection Manager Douglas Richardson said: �The early signs are fairly promising, with Fluffy trying to initiate play but at the same time he is very respectful of the older female. We are very hopeful that they will breed in the future. Fluffy had a difficult start in life. He was abandoned as a five or six week old kitten and was partially hand-reared back to strength, but he is a bit on the small side.

�Cross breeding between wildcats and domesticated cats means it�s often difficult to tell how �pure� a wildcat is but given the results from the current genetic test, both Fluffy and Betty seem to be good examples. It�s thought there are only about 400 wildcats remaining in the wild so any kittens would be a huge boost to the conservation of this critically endangered native species.�

Fluffy and Betty aren�t the only wildcat couple at the Highland Wildlife Park. Established pair Hamish and Suzie had two kittens on March 23rd 2011.Keepers have just named the latest additions to the wildcat family, taking inspiration from Lochs in the local area�the female kitten is named Alvie after Loch Avlie and the male kitten is named Garton after Loch Garton.

Woodlands in the Highlands are some of the last remaining strongholds of these rare native animals which are under threat from habitat loss and disease, but interbreeding with domestic cats is the greatest threat they face.

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which operates Edinburgh Zoo and the Highland Wildlife Park, is a partner of the Cairngorms Wildcat Project which aims to gather more data on and protect the remaining wildcat population. Our genetics research unit is also working with other partners to develop a definitive genetic test.

Wildcats head west

Tue, 9 August 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Two wildcats from the Highland Wildlife Park, near Kingussie, have found a new home in South Lanarkshire.

The two females called Morag and Heather have moved to a great new home at Calderglen Country Park.The head animal keeper, Billy Mathieson is excited to have the rare cats at the park and hopes they will settle in well and in future become part of the breeding programme.

You can also catch a glimpse of wildcats in other places just check out the 'where to see' section of this website.

Cairngorms wildcats featured across Europe

Sat, 13 January 2012 00:00:01 GMT

Last year a crew from the Franco-German TV channel, ARTE, came to the Deeside area of the Cairngorms National Park to film a documentary on aspects of the local cultural and natural heritage of the area. The programme focuses on the Farquharson clan and ties this in with, amongst other things, local castles, Highland Games, deer and moorland management, as well as camera trapping for wildcats, the Farquharson clan�s totemic animal. The programme has been broadcast and repeated several times this week in France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Portugal and Israel. For the next few days the programme will also be available online on the ARTE website here. The narration is in either French or German (you can choose your preferred language on the bottom right of the video screen) and you might be able to catch a few words of English from local characters before they get dubbed over. There are two sections on wildcats - one around 13 minutes and the other at around 30 minutes.

Camera trapping for wildcats

Wed, 10 January 2012 00:00:01 GMT

Happy New Year to all! You may have seen a wildcat story in the news just after New Year about a wildcat camera trapping study, which was carried out by Kerry Kilshaw of WildCRU in the Cairngorms National Park (see here for the latest coverage on the BBC website). Her fieldwork was part-funded by one of our Project partners, SNH and their commissioned report on Kerry's fieldwork can now be downloaded from their website here. There are a few tips there on how to increase your chances of catching a wildcat on your camera trap!

From Highland Tiger to Scaredy Cat!

Sat, 20 December 2011 00:00:01 GMT

We have received some exceptional video footage, which was taken by a local woman in the Strathspey part of the Cairngorms National Park. It shows a female Scottish wildcat going about her business hunting for voles along a secluded woodland edge. Unknown to her, however, a female roe deer has her fawn hidden in the grass nearby and her protective maternal instincts kick in! You can view the footage on the Highland Tiger YouTube channel here.

This is very likely to be same cat which was filmed for the BBC's Springwatch programme at the same location in 2008. Some of that footage can be viewed on the BBC website here. Enjoy!

Interesting cat from Deeside

Fri, 19 December 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Here are some photos taken on a camera trap set up by a Cairngorms National Park ranger in Deeside. The first photo shows an interesting-looking cat feeding on the dead cockerel bait. The thick ringed tail and dorsal stripe stopping at the base of the tail suggest this cat has wildcat ancestry. However the blotches on the flanks and the double dorsal stripe suggest the cat may also have some domestic genes too. This is probably quite a young animal as it is small compared to the pine marten which visits the same bait later.

2012 Calendars on sale

Fri, 5 December 2011 00:00:01 GMT

For anyone still looking for an interesting wee Christmas or New Year present, you might be interested to know that professional photographer, Trevor D. Russell, has recently compiled a lavish 2012 calendar consisting entirely of portrait images of wildcats at the Scottish Deer Centre. Trevor has generously agreed to donate 30% of the profits of sales of his calendars to the Highland Tiger Fund, which is administered by one of the partners of the Cairngorms Wildcat Project - the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (Registered charity number: SC004064). Donations to the Highland Tiger Fund will be used to further the conservation and research of Scottish wildcats in the Cairngorms National Park.

His hand-printed calendars are giclee printed on A4 265gsm premium matte card using professional equipment and utilising archival paper and pigment-based ultrachrome ink for certified 200-year longevity. Trevor informs me that the paper and print quality is sufficiently high that, that at the end of the calendar year, each image could be saved and framed as an individual print.

The calendars cost �9.99 plus postage, although for two copies the price drops to �8.99 each but postage remains the same. To view the calendar images visit the gallery on Trevor�s site here. Calendars can be ordered via the link near the foot of this page here.

Wildcat talk in Carrbridge

Thu, 25 November 2011 00:00:01 GMT

I'll be giving an illustrated presentation about the Cairngorms Wildcat Project in Carrbridge Village Hall on Tuesday evening as a guest of the Badenoch & Strathspey Conservation Group. The Group are having their AGM until 7.45pm, but my talk will start at 8pm and non-members are very welcome to come along then. Maybe see you on Tuesday!

A couple of reports out

Wed, 24 November 2011 00:00:01 GMT

It's been a wee while since my last update but the second annual report for the Cairngorms Wildcat Project, which covers the activities of the project from Summer 2010 to Summer 2011, has been added to the website here.

One of our project partners, Scottish Natural Heritage, has just produced its Scottish Nature Omnibus report for 2011. Available for download from the SNH website here, the report is based on surveys of the Scottish public and collates opinion on a number of environmental issues, including species conservation and is a repeat of a survey carried out the previous year. When asked about which wildlife species they most most associate with Scotland, just 8% responded with Scottish wildcat in 2010. Over the course of a year, however, that figure has almost doubled to 15% in the current report, which shows the recent awareness-raising work of our project partners and other organisations, such as the Scottish Wildcat Association, has really helped to propel the wildcat further into the public consciousness - something which can make a real difference to its conservation. If this improvement continues, the wildcat will be up there in the next year or two challenging deer, golden eagles, salmon and grouse, as Scotland's most iconic species.