Found in a peat bog, killer on the loose 2,000 years ago
THEY once roamed great swathes of the country, scouring the land in search of prey.
Though once feared as deadly predators, wolves have been extinct in the wild in Scotland for centuries.
Now, however, a crofter has uncovered what is thought to be part of the the body of an ancient wolf – complete with claws, teeth and fur.
Crofter Duncan MacKay, 66, found the remains – estimated to be up to 2,000 years old – preserved in a peat bog on his land in Rogart, Sutherland.
He said: ‘We were digging a ditch and the boy on the digger said we had struck something.
‘At first, I thought it was a fox but, looking closer, knew it was something bigger.
‘I’ve never seen anything like it before in all my life. My family were all excited about it.’
Mr MacKay phoned Dr Nick Lindsay, chairman of the Clyne Heritage Society in Brora, on Monday about his discovery.
Dr Lindsay met him the next day to excavate the carcass, which was lying almost five feet below the surface.
‘This is the most exciting discovery I’ve ever been involved with,’ said Dr Lindsay. ‘I can’t wait to have it dated – it could be 2,000 years old.
‘I feel very privileged to be involved and am so glad Duncan thought to call us.
‘We hope that it can come back to Brora once we have it identified, dated and preserved. It will be one of the society’s prize possessions.’
Mr MacKay added: ‘I was gentle when digging the next day, as I didn’t know what I was going to find next.
‘Hopefully, it will be buried treasure next time and I can retire.’
Though the claws and teeth of the wolf are in good condition, years in the peat have turned them black.
The skull was found with a fracture, although whether that was a cause of death or a blow from the digger is unclear.
Once excavated, the remains were shipped to Jeanette Pearson, conservation officer at Inverness Museum and Gallery.
Her task is to work with experts at the National Museum Scotland to piece the remains back together.
She said: ‘I’ve had a look at the skull and compared it to some of the others in our collection. It’s definitely not a fox and is much closer to a wolf. Now comes the painstaking process of trying to work out how much of the skeleton we have.
‘It’s a case of going through and figuring out which bit is which and if they all connect.
‘In my 19 years here, finding an animal in a peat bog is a first.
‘We found a Jacobite bonnet a few years ago but I can’t remember anything that once lived coming through.’
The discovery follows a landowner’s plan to reintroduce a pack of Swedish wolves to Sutherland.
Paul Lister, the laird of Alladale estate, north of Inverness, aims to create a wilderness reserve.
He explained: ‘I want to restore balance and harmony to this place in accordance with the way it was created and the way it was meant to be.
‘The controlled release of a pack of wolves would help achieve that harmony by changing the behaviours of the deer and keeping their numbers down.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said that it ‘has no plans to reintroduce wolves into Scotland’.
‘Most exciting discovery’