Strathpeffer pupils help save rare wildcats
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ROSS-SHIRE schoolchildren have taken part in a day of activities to help endangered Scottish wildcats which live in their midst.
Strathpeffer is among six sites in Scotland identified as "priority areas" for wildcats by Scottish Wildcat Action (SWA).
Dr Keri Langridge, a wildcat project officer from SWA, jointly ran an education event at Strathpeffer Primary School to explain to the pupils why it was so important to protect the rare native species.
It is now hoped the children and their families will become "cat detectives" and help to find and identify wildcats and un-owned feral or hybrid cats in the area.
Scottish Wildcat Action is a national conservation effort to save the critically endangered Scottish wildcat and launched in 2015.
It is led by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and comprises a partnership of 20 organisations.
It recently completed a survey of the area using trail-cameras and found six possible wildcats as well as eight hybrids which are individuals with mixed wildcat and domestic cat ancestry.
Further work is now underway to protect the wildcats that remain, including a programme of Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return for un-owned (feral) cats to prevent them inter-breeding or spreading disease to wildcats.
Carolyn Ritchie, the head teacher at Strathpeffer Primary, said: "Everyone was delighted. The children have learned how to ID a wildcat, helped to produce a map of pet cats for the Strathpeffer Community Cat Board, and the Primary 7 children have even been involved in setting up a trail-camera to hopefully capture pictures of a wildcat near the school.
"It is very exciting and we can’t wait to check the camera to see what animals we find."
Keri Langridge said: "Strathpeffer wildcats live unusually close to this community, so it’s really important to get everyone involved in their protection.
"By contributing pictures of their pet cats, these younger wildcat-watchers are helping me build a picture of the local cat community so that I can identify feral cats and get them neutered and vaccinated."
A community cat board is currently on display at Strathpeffer Community Centre and all local cat owners are encouraged to pop in and contribute a picture.
SWA is a five-year project working on six wildcat priority areas outlined in the national action plan.
The Scottish Wildcat Action Steering Group comprises Scottish Natural Heritage; Forestry Commission Scotland; Cairngorms National Park Authority; National Museums Scotland; Royal Zoological Society of Scotland; Scottish Gamekeepers Association; Scottish Wildlife Trust; National Trust for Scotland and the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at Edinburgh University.
Wildcats’ conservation is an important feature of the Scottish Government’s 2020 Biodiversity Challenge.
Dr Roo Campbell, the priority areas manager, said: "Strathpeffer is extremely important because the area contains some of the best wildcats remaining in Scotland.
"We are working hard with local people here to protect this beautiful cat for future generations."
The main threats to the Scottish wildcats come from their interaction with domestic cats, particularly those that have been born in the wild, known as feral cats.
Scottish Wildcat Action aims to neuter and vaccinate the vast majority of feral cats in wildcat priority areas each year until 2020. To do this it relies on local tip-offs and trail camera technology.
Last month, Scottish Wildcat Action also launched a new app to help people report sightings of wild-living cats on the move.
The Mammal Tracker app is available on Android and iPhone. Alternatively, sightings can be reported via www.scottishwildcataction.org
