Wildcats to make return to Borders
WILDCATS are to be reintroduced to the south of Scotland as part of a plan to save the endangered species.
Conservation group Wildcat Haven said it hoped animals in the southern uplands would cross to England for the first time in more than 300 years.
It will use wildcats imported from Europe for the project, as the animals are so scarce in Scotland.
The charity is involved in initiatives to protect wildcats in the Ardnamurchan peninsula and Aberdeenshire.
And it hopes they could be roaming Dumfries and Galloway, the Borders, Cumbria and Northumberland from next autumn.
Dr Paul O’Donoghue, Wildcat Haven’s chief scientific advisor, said: ‘The British ecology needs a wildcat in it, and wildcats fit in perfectly, helping to control species such as rabbit and actively avoiding conflict with humans.
‘The Highlands can’t afford to lose any Scottish wildcats so we’ll be looking to healthy, wild-living European populations and using them to re-establish a British wildcat population on both sides of the Border.’
There are thought to be as few as 35 pure wildcats left in Scotland, where they face the threat of extinction due to breeding with domestic and feral cats, habitat loss and accidental persecution.
Survey and research work is now under way in Galloway Forest, where the scheme will initially be focused.
Dr O’Donoghue said: ‘We’ve seen that wildcats can thrive in manmade forests, and part of our research is understanding how we can create a sustainable population in this environment.’
The project has landowner support from Gresham House Forestry, one of the largest owners of forestry in the Galloway region.
Jason Sinden, director of forestry, said: ‘The forests are being recolonised by pine martens and we hope that the habitat can also be suitable for the wildcat, which is such an important component of forest eco-systems.’