I’m David Hetherington and I’m in charge of the Cairngorms Wildcat Project. I’ll be posting here regularly to keep you up to date with wildcat news from the Caingorms. I’ll be telling you about the developments in this unique project and what’s happening on the ground to help wildcats. Stay tuned!
4 March 2010 : Another icon dropped in!
Our camera trap on the Glen Tanar estate, in the Deeside area of the National Park, might not have picked up a wildcat but it certainly did pick up another of Scotland's iconic wildlife species - a golden eagle! The estate's Wildlife Manager, Colin McClean, has done some sterling work by battling through waist deep snow for hours towing a deer carcase or two to bait this particular camera trap. It took him a few weeks to revisit the trap because of all the snow that's fallen in recent weeks. But I'm sure you'll agree, this great shot of such an impressive bird makes up for the lack of wildcats there so far. I wonder what more we'll find in the weeks ahead!?.JPG "Glen Tanar golden eagle (small).JPG")
26 February 2010 : Camera trapping
In the past few weeks, we've managed to get quite a few more camera traps deployed around the Cairngorms National Park to try to snap our elusive, furry ghosts. Winter has returned to the area with a vengeance in the past few days, with lots of snow and wind meaning drifts a couple of meters deep in places! I'm not sure how the wildcats, or indeed the cameras, will cope in these conditions, but I suspect that a few of the cameras could now be just above the snow, or indeed quite a long way under it! Once the road conditions have improved, I'll get out there and check the cameras. Of course, if they've snapped anything interesting, I'll be sure to let you know.
27 January 2010 : Another wildcat talk ... this time in Kincraig
For any interested folks in the Badenoch & Strathspey area of the National Park, I'll be giving my illustrated talk, "The Cairngorms Wildcat Project - saving the Highland Tiger" in Kincraig on Wednesday February 3rd at 7.30pm . The talk will take place at the Cairngorms Christian Centre and will be hosted by Insh & Alvie Church. Any donations on the night to their Kiwoko Hospital appeal would be gratefully received.
22 January 2010 : Wildcat talk in Stonehaven
For any interested folks in the Mearns area, I'll be giving an illustrated talk entitled "The Cairngorms Wildcat Project - saving the Highland Tiger" on Thursday 28th January at 8pm. The talk, which is open to the public, will take place at The Heugh Hotel in Stonehaven and will be hosted by the Stonehaven Hillwalking & Mountaineering Club.
20 January 2010 : Talking to gamekeepers, vets and Cats Protection
It's been a busy but productive period for the Project in recent weeks. On December 17th we held a workshop attended by 40 delegates, mostly gamekeepers from estates in and around the Cairngorms National Park. This was an opportunity to let the gamekeeping community know what the Project is attempting to do, present the latest developments in wildcat identification and conservation, and seek their advice on how best to take forward wildcat conservation on private sporting estates. The workshop generated a lot of very useful discussion and it was clear that many gamekeepers are keen to help conserve a much endangered Scottish icon. As people who are out and about in all areas of the National Park in all weathers and at all times of day, they are probably in the best position to observe the shy and secretive Scottish wildcat and could provide the Project with a wealth of invaluable information on their distribution and behaviour. I look forward to working with estates across the National Park in the coming months.
On January 8th we held a meeting with vets from practices in and around the National Park, as well as representatives from Cats Protection, the UK's largest cat welfare charity. The Project sought advice on how best to promote the responsible cat ownership message in the National Park and discussed ways to expand and intensify the neutering of feral cats around villages and farms. Again, the meeting was very useful and productive and I look forward to developing these ideas further. Watch this space!
