Scottish wild cat.

Far back in the history of Scotland clans formed together under the image of the wildcat and fought wars for the independence of the land. Today less than 400 Scottish wildcats remain in the wild and the extinction of Britain's last large mammal predator could come within the next five years.

No angry tabby or feral the wildcat is a genuine wild species of cat; it was here long before we were and long before the domestic cat had even evolved. Infamously the only wild animal to be completely untameable, even when captive reared, Scottish wildcats may look a little like your pet cat but these are incredibly tough super-predators, sometimes called the Tiger of the Highlands.

Sadly, our wildcat is critically endangered with less than 400 individuals remaining in the wild and barely a handful in the captive breeding population. We carry out a wide range of campaigns and projects designed to rebuild and conserve the wildcat population across the Scottish Highlands through active fieldwork, support of scientific research, fundraising for the captive breeding programme and general public education and awareness

On the way home today we went to the Highland Wildlifew Park at Kincraig. We saw these Scottish Wildcats, they also had two kittens, we saw one of them. They are a very endagenered species so it was good to see them, even if it was in captivity.

The park is well worth a visit, excellent value and very interesting.