Scottish Wildcat [View all]

[MichaelMcGuire]

(Wha ye lookin' at? fuk aff!)

intro:
Pound for pound the Scottish wildcat is one of the most impressive predators in the world; intelligent, fearless, resourceful, patient, agile and powerful they are genuine superpredators and until as recently as the 1950s were believed to be man killers.

inspired and terrified the same Highland clans that defied the Roman and English empires. Today the wildcat continues to receive the respect of Highland farmers and gamekeepers, many of them happy to recount the tale of the wildcat mother killing herself to kill a golden eagle attacking her kittens, or stories from childhood of wildcats evading teams of watching keepers to snatch lambs from their father's fields.


Clan MacPherson (one of seven that use the wildcat)

(Ur it will hae yer hain aff.)

Every inch a cat in every sense of the word the Scottish wildcat epitomises the independent, mysterious and wild spirit of the Highlands like no other creature.

"They'll fight to the death for their freedom; they epitomise what it takes to be truly free I think."
Mike Tomkies

By appearance the Scottish wildcat resembles a very muscular domestic tabby, the coat is made up of well defined brown and black stripes and usually has a ruffled appearance due to its thickness. The gait is more like that of a big cat and the face and jaw are wider and more heavy set than the domestic cat. Most apparent is the beautiful tail; thick and ringed with perfect bands of black and brown ending in a blunt black tip. The Scottish form is the largest in the wildcat family with males typically between 6-9kg (13-17lb) and females 5-7kg (11-15lb), around 50% larger than the average domestic cat. Fossil examples measuring 4 feet from nose to tail have been found; such a cat could have weighed around 14kg (30lb).

Their body is an evolutionary perfection; eighteen razor sharp retractable claws and rotating wrists for gripping prey and climbing trees, immensely powerful thigh muscles for 30mph sprinting, the ability to fall from the highest pine tree, land on its feet and walk away unscathed, incredible stealth, balance and agility all wrapped in a thick, camoflaged and religiously cleaned coat with one downy layer to keep in the warm and another outer layer to keep out the rain and cold.

Unique to Britain, and now only found in Scotland, they are a sub species of the European wildcat (felis silvestris silvestris) and although similar to the European the Scottish is slightly larger with a thicker coat, more heavily camoflaged and hunts and lives across a wider range of habitats; it is also infamously known as the only wild animal that can never be tamed by human hand, even when captive reared

Originally a forest creature, Scotland's heavy deforestation and tightly varied habitats has forced the wildcat to evolve and utilise everything available to it, with individuals typically including a mixture of habitats in their territory.

Once found across the British mainland they are now confined to the Scottish Highlands. Eye witness sightings of cats in the Borders region and even Northern England are not complete impossibilities but any cats in those areas are likely to be heavily hybridised. Locations of the best populations is slowly coming into focus and unsurprisingly it seems that they primarily exist in the less developed areas of the Highlands in the far north and west.

http://www.scottishwildcats.co.uk/wildcat.html
snips taken from above link, + some in put above from me.

Scottish wildcat conservation project Highland Tiger has created this official introductory film explaing the issues faced by the Scottish wildcat and what can be done to help these amazing animals.
http://www.highlandtiger.com/