Campaigners seek to reintroduce Eurasian lynx to parts of Britain

Charity begins local consultation on plan to introduce 10 Eurasian lynxes back into wild in north of England and southern Scotland

Libby Brooks

Sunday 24 July 201615.53 BST Last modified on Sunday 24 July 201616.10 BST

Lynx could soon be reintroduced to the north of England and southern Scotland as the charity campaigning for the return of the wild mammal, which was last seen across Britain around 700AD, launches its final stage of a consultation.

The project to introduce 10 Eurasian lynxes back into the wild, which has also considered sites in Aberdeenshire, will this week begin discussions with farmers and tourist operators around Kielder Forest in Northumberland.

Paul O’Donoghue, chief scientific adviser of the Lynx UK Trust, described the cross-border site and the largest forested area in Britain as ideal because of its low human population density, limited road networks and large deer populations.

Following this local consultation, which is expected to last two to three months, the trust will submit its licence application to Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage in the autumn, and expects a “speedy and positive” response.

It will source lynx for the trial while the application is being considered, and O’Donoghue said the animals could be reintroduced “as soon as practicably possible”.

The Eurasian lynx, which were hunted for their highly prized pelts, have been successfully reintroduced in northern Germany, where 14 of the cats introduced in 2000 have grown to a population of up to 100.

Their preferred diet of roe deer makes them popular with the rewilding movement, which argues for the reintroduction of apex predators in order to control herbivore populations, promote forest growth and reinvigorate ecosystems.

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Lynx to be reintroduced into wild in Britain after a 1,300-year absence

The predators eat deer, rabbits and hares among other animals but are not considered a risk to people

IAN JOHNSTON

Lynx are to be reintroduced into the wild in Britain after a 1,300-year absence, under an ambitious “rewilding” plan drawn up by a conservation charity.

The Lynx UK Trust would release up to 18 of the cats onto private estates in Aberdeenshire, Cumbria and Norfolk if the idea is given the go-ahead by Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage.

The predators eat deer, rabbits and hares among other animals but are not considered a risk to people as they tend to stay away from humans.

Dr Paul O’Donoghue, who advises the trust, told The Sunday Times: “The lynx is one of the most enigmatic, beautiful cats on the planet. The British countryside is dying, and lynx will bring it back to life.”

Source

Mystery of 'Fuerteventura' cat found in Muchalls garage in Aberdeenshire

Mystery surrounds the discovery of a cat in an Aberdeenshire garage which has been traced via its identity chip to Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands.

BBC Scotland has learned the cat was found by a family in Muchalls on Thursday.

They contacted Cats Protection before taking it to a vet, and the cat was traced to the Spanish island through an international database after the national one drew a blank.

It has been named Juanita.

Vet check

Efforts have been made to make contact via the chip's registration details, but without success.

Rosy Long, who found the cat, said: "I opened the garage and we found this small cat.

"We think she had just got shut in, she must have been desperate to get out of the cold."

Her efforts to find a possible owner locally failed, and the cat was taken to the vet.

She added: "The vet said 'bingo' when it came back she was from the Canary Islands."

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Crane lift for eel as 'love congers all' in Macduff

6ft conger eel has been released into the wild so he can find love after a lifting operation involving a crane.

The conger eel, called Rip, left Macduff Marine Aquarium in Aberdeenshire to swim to the Atlantic.

Staff said he had become restless, a typical sign that the time had come for a 2,000-mile migration.

The eels are known to congregate in deep water, where they spawn before dying. Operation Rip Tide was carried out on Monday afternoon.

Rip has been at the aquarium since 2004.

A large bag was used to catch the conger eel and a crane was used to hoist him out, lowering him into sea, where divers opened the bag.

Claire Matthews, the aquarium manager, said: "We hope Rip makes it to the Azores, but of course the sad part of the story is that he will die after it all - but at least he'll be happy."

In 2001, Chippie the conger eel was released at the aquarium for the same journey in Operation Amour.

See video here ...

Scottish wildcat and cub captured in photo and on film

A Scottish wildcat and her cub - among the rarest animals on earth - have been caught on camera.

The animals were just yards from the home of a crofter near Cornhill, a village near Banff in Aberdeenshire. He and his wife are keeping their identities and location secret because the wildcat is a protected species.

The crofter said: "We have had astonishing sightings in recent days, even seeing them playing at one point.

"We are in no doubt that they are wildcats. The kitten is about the size of an adult domestic cat, and you would not want the mother sitting on your lap.


"I think if you were confronted by it, you would turn around and walk the other way.

"To see a mother and kitten together is extremely rare. We believe there may be other kittens nearby, and she has been teaching this young one to hunt.

"We have watched the mother hunting and killing big rabbits and taking them into a nearby overgrown area, and we have also seen what we think is the father on his own.

"We have sighted large cats at this time of year from our house for the past four years. Initially we thought we were seeing a wild big cat, but these are most definitely wildcats. There is even a possibility that a big cat and a wildcat could have bred."

The mother and kitten were photographed about 100 yards from the Cornhill couple's house, and they also managed to get video footage.

"I have borrowed a hide so that I can get closer, in the hope that I can take even sharper pictures," added the crofter.

"Photographs of them are very rare."

The Scottish wildcat is the UK's last large mammal predator. Although it my look similar to a domestic cat, there are a number of key differences that make the Scottish wildcat stand out.

They are about 50% larger than a regular domestic cat, have thick striped coats and wider jaws and a thick ringed tail.

They are extremely powerful and fast, capable of reaching 30mph, but there are so few of them left that they are regarded as one of the UK's most endangered species.

The Cairngorm Wildcat Project has been set up to safeguard the surviving wildcat population. It is headed up by Dr David Hetherington, who has been sent pictures of the animals photographed near Cornhill.

He said: "It is difficult to say from the angle and clarity of the pictures whether they are definitely wildcats. I would need to see their coat markings in more detail.

"We are getting reports of wildcats in agricultural landscapes in Aberdeenshire, indicating that they are moving into areas where they are not normally found.

"It would be very exciting if these Cornhill animals were wildcats, but they may also be hybrids between wildcats and domestic or feral cats.

"Hybrids are a real threat to the future of the pure Scottish wildcat, apart from their limited numbers, and that is why we are keen that people living in rural areas get their farm and domestic cats neutered, to prevent any cross-breeding."

It is thought that there could be fewer than 400 wildcats remaining in the Highlands, making them rarer than Bengal tigers. Experts fear they are on the brink of extinction.

If the Cornhill sighting is verified, it would back up reports that the cats are extending out to agricultural areas of Aberdeenshire from their more common habitat around the Cairngorms.

See video:
http://news.stv.tv/scotland/north/263249-scottish-wildcat-and-cub-captured-in-photo/