Looks like I might need that emergency can of tuna and ball of string quite a lot on this trip!
Not only do I have the Beast of Bodmin to keep my eyes peeled for these beautiful but elusive Scottish Wildcats (referred to as the Highland Tiger?!!) live throughout the forests of the Highlands and are a damn sight more real.
According to conservationists the Scottish Wildcat is usually larger and more robust-looking than domestic cats, although castrated male domestic cats can become as large as wildcat toms. Wildcats have keener eyesight than domestic cats, both at night and during the day. They have distinctive bushy ringed tails with blunt black tips.
Male Scottish wildcats are typically larger than females. Males weigh 3.8 to 7.3kg, with an average of 5.3kg, while females vary from 2.4 to 4.7kg, averaging 3.7kg. The length of males, from the head to tip of the tail, varies from 82-98cm but averages 89cm, while females range from 73-90cm, averaging 82 cm.
Luckily for me the Scottish Wildcat eats predominantly rabbits, hares, voles and mice. They are solitary and territorial, so you're extremely unlucky to bump into two males at any one time, especially when you consider their territories in the Highlands are usually at least 4.2km square.
Since 1988 the wildcat has been a protected species, listed on Schedule 5 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981. Actually with so few of these beautiful creatures still roaming the Highlands I would count myself extremely fortunate should I manage to capture a glimpse of one out in the wild on my travels.
Not only do I have the Beast of Bodmin to keep my eyes peeled for these beautiful but elusive Scottish Wildcats (referred to as the Highland Tiger?!!) live throughout the forests of the Highlands and are a damn sight more real.
According to conservationists the Scottish Wildcat is usually larger and more robust-looking than domestic cats, although castrated male domestic cats can become as large as wildcat toms. Wildcats have keener eyesight than domestic cats, both at night and during the day. They have distinctive bushy ringed tails with blunt black tips.
Male Scottish wildcats are typically larger than females. Males weigh 3.8 to 7.3kg, with an average of 5.3kg, while females vary from 2.4 to 4.7kg, averaging 3.7kg. The length of males, from the head to tip of the tail, varies from 82-98cm but averages 89cm, while females range from 73-90cm, averaging 82 cm.
Luckily for me the Scottish Wildcat eats predominantly rabbits, hares, voles and mice. They are solitary and territorial, so you're extremely unlucky to bump into two males at any one time, especially when you consider their territories in the Highlands are usually at least 4.2km square.
Since 1988 the wildcat has been a protected species, listed on Schedule 5 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981. Actually with so few of these beautiful creatures still roaming the Highlands I would count myself extremely fortunate should I manage to capture a glimpse of one out in the wild on my travels.
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