9 hours ago
8
It is always interesting to see how overnight snow reveals what goes on under the cover of night. Around the granny pines, I see the smaller fore and larger hind prints of a red squirrel. Across the fields and along pinewood paths, there is evidence of hares and badgers, pine martens and deer, before they veered off, back into the heather and blaeberry understorey.
On a recent walk, I came across some less familiar animal tracks around the edges of the pinewoods and I was convinced they were those of a wildcat. After going to a talk by the Saving Wildcats project I’m even more certain. The project was launched in 2015 after conservationists feared the wild population was facing extinction in Britain. It involves captive breeding followed by careful release and monitoring – and so far it has been a success.
Wildcats bred through the Saving Wildcats project are fitted with GPS collars to map their movements, and it’s fascinating to see their activity, the crossovers between individuals as they find and mark their territories or search for mates. While some cats are quite local in their movements, others travel astounding distances – one was tracked going all the way from Speyside to Deeside, over Ben Macdui, the UK’s second highest mountain. In all, 46 individuals have been released so far, with very high survival rates and evidence that litters of kittens have been born in the wild.
Much larger than domestic cats, wildcats have thick coats, tabby markings and a thick, blunt tail with black rings and tip. A black dorsal “spine” in non-hybridised cats stops at the base of the tail. I was lucky enough to see one last year, fleetingly, and I can still remember the distinctive tail, the feeling of awe and excitement. I can only hope that one day I’ll see another in such detail.
Wildcats join a few good news stories up here, including a small rise in the capercaillie population last year. Even if both species are rarely seen, the knowledge that they are here, and the little clues that they leave, whether tracks or feathers, are more than enough.
