Conservation Communication

The Scottish Wildcat is Britain's most threatened mammal with perhaps just a few hundred of these magnificent cats surviving in the wild. Despite this, efforts to address its plight have until recently, been virtually non-existent. Wildcats were once widespread throughout the UK but have been forced into the furthest reaches of the Scottish Highlands where over time, they've developed physical and behavioural traits that differentiate them from European Wildcats, their close relative.

Highland Tiger was the first coordinated conservation effort to save this iconic and elusive predator. Extensive fieldwork to establish population size and range was accompanied by public engagement initiatives and dialogue with landowners to build relationships that would lead to wildcat protection. A wide range of media outputs helped establish this little-known feline in the minds of the general public, a process that continues to this day.

The Highland Tiger project has now evolved into Scottish Wildcat Action.

All images ©Peter Cairns