Jim puts an optimistic new view on efforts to halt the decline of the Scottish wildcat.
SUTHERLAND, somewhere west of Lairg, shortly before a spring dawn, nearing the end of a through-the-night drive on something perilously close to automatic pilot.
Suddenly there was a pair of eyes in the headlights unlike anything I’d seen, ever. They burned from a point in the middle of the road – like green cat’s eyes, I thought, and at that moment I realised what I was looking at. As the car stopped about 20 yards away the headlights illuminated my first wildcat. It had crouched, and gave the impression of staring out the headlights. With its head low to the ground, ears pointed outwards from the edge of a broad skull, its back arching steeply behind its head, it looked ready for anything.
I switched the lights off. The wildcat switched its green eyes off. I waited. It waited. I switched the engine off, wound down the window. The chill air rushed in. I could just make out the unmoving shape in the road.
Then it spoke. One of the clichés that attaches to the wildcat is the terrifying nature of its scream. The voice of this one, then, came as a bit of a surprise. The monosyllable it pronounced was loud and throaty:
“Mau!” it said. Then it walked to the edge of the road, jumped the ditch, landed with a soft thud in the bracken and vanished. Then, from a few yards up the hill: “Mau!” The sound is still in my head, 30 years after the event.
So I wrote 10 years ago – make this 40 years after the event. I was revisiting the article because this winter has witnessed the largest-ever survey of Scottish wildcats, part of a six-year plan which began in 2013, aimed at halting their drastic decline. So far it has not covered itself in glory.
Denne historien er fra March 2017-utgaven av The Scots Magazine.
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Denne historien er fra March 2017-utgaven av The Scots Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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The Bliss Of A Bothy
After a strenuous walk, a mountain shelter can offer all you need
The Long Way Round
When you can only just see the stepping stones under a river in spate, it's time to re-think the route, as two Highland adventurers found out
The New Oyster Cult
A community is helping to restore the once rich biodiversity of Loch Craignish, one species at a time
A Poet's Sanctuary
Hidden on a hilltop, writer Dominic Cooper is inspired by the wild, stormy winters of the Ardnamurchan peninsula
A Rural Housing Crisis
Across Scotland, locals are being priced out and crowded out - but communities are now working hard to address the issue
A Historic Centre
Glasgow's Mercat Cross may not be as old as it appears but it's still seen many changes, along with an ebb and flow in prosperity
A Bird With A Brain
Jim's encounters with the raven in several northern countries have only increased his respect for its intellect and ingenuity
The Warrior King
On the 750th anniversary of his birth, Robert The Bruce's legacy as cultural keystone and historical enigma continues to fascinate
All Going Swimmingly
From Tutti Frutti to Shetland, Monarch Of The Glen to Granite Harbour, Dawn Steele's heart will always be in Scotland - and the sea
Following The Coos
The latest charity art trail aims to a-moos-e and delight visitors to Perth and Kinross this summer