Country diary: The Highland tiger who came to me
I'm off to check my nature cameras, and while in the past they've caught some lovely things – pine martens scampering across the forest floor, a badger lumbering past, a fox and a succession of red deer, including one antlered stag in front of a granny pine – I've been hoping for a sight of the elusive wildcat.
One evening, driving slowly down the track in the late gloaming, I caught a pair of bright eyes in my headlights. The eyes were too low and close together for the small family of dexter cattle that roam the field. Whatever it was stared me out until I got closer, and then with a leisurely, confident saunter, a 'Highland tiger' crossed and disappeared into a tangle of juniper.
It was larger than a domestic cat, with tabby markings, but what struck me most was its tail – thick, black rings around it and a black tip. I remember reading a description of it being like a sausage, 'the same at the end as at the top'.
Wildcats are critically endangered. Persecution, loss of habitat and a propensity to breed with domestic cats have all contributed to a huge decline in numbers, but hope is at hand with Saving Wildcats. This incredible project breeds and releases wildcats back into the wild, ensuring before release that the animals are socially and behaviourally competent and physically able to cope, with careful monitoring of the creatures afterwards.
I wonder if the wildcat I saw was one of theirs. I'll keep my cameras out in hope, but I do love the fact that nature just does its thing, and how I first encountered a closeup sighting of this rare beast from behind a windscreen.
Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian's Country Diary, 2018-2024 is published by Guardian Faber; order at guardianbookshop.com and get a 15% discount
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