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!
1 July 2010 : Camera trapping update
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.
23 June 2010 : Neutering feral cats in the Cairngorms National Park
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.
20 May 2010 : Scottish Wildcat Survey 2006-08
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.
19 May 2010 : Talk in Ballater on Saturday 22nd
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.
19 May 2010 : All creatures great and small
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.
