Give Scottish wildcats a paw up…and help save the Highland Tiger

Wildcats were once widespread in Scotland and sad to say, they are now on the brink of extinction there. The population is viable no longer.

Why have their numbers reduced so much?

• Habitat loss
• Persecution
• Breeding with domestic cats
• Disease

So we need to take action and POUNCE TO HELP before things get even worse.

Saving Wildcats (#SWAforLife) is a project which is dedicated to the conservation and recovery of Scottish wildcats.

And the project aims to:

• Establish the first large-scale dedicated conservation ‘breeding for release’ centre for wildcats, bringing wildcat experts together with a dedicated veterinary unit and a specialised pre-release training programme so that the cats can hep develop the life skills they need for a wild life.
• Grow the population of wildcats through releasing wildcats into the wild – the aim is 20 a year, potentially within the Cairngorms National Park. They’ll all wear a special GPS collar so that both movement and behaviour can be recorded
• Remove threats facing wildcats in the Highlands, thereby creating other safe areas where wildcats can be reintroduced
• Work with local communities to work out how best people can benefit from the presence of wildcats

Take a look at the Independent's You Tube Channel report when Scottish wildcats were released into the wild!

This is an exciting project.  And there are a number of ways in which you can get involved and help save the Highland Tiger!

Ways to help the Scottish wildcat

You could sponsor a Scottish wildcat such as Cranachan
Find out more here
Image copyright Saving Wildcats

1. Sponsor a wildcat from £5 a month – this could be the purrfect gift for a cat lover!
2. Donate, as a one off or monthly
3. Raise funds through Just Giving
4. Subscribe to the Scottish Wildcats mailing list so that you can hear all the news and discover how you can help
5. Donate straight to the wildcats in the conservation ‘breeding for release’ centre through the Amazon wishlist
6. Help classify wildlife in images taken with camera traps (find out more about that here)
7. Become a Co-op member and contribute towards the project as you spend instore!

Here's how to identify a wildcat - if you think you've seen one, you can report your sighting.  This is the case for wildcats you see that are alive, or who have sadly died.  

Saving Wildcats has been shortlisted for the Great British Wildlife Restoration competition, organised by BIAZA (British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums).  This is a one-off award scheme which recognises the amazing work being done to restore native species.

A number of organisations and businesses are involved Saving Wildcats, so good luck to everyone involved, especially the wildcats themselves!

#SWAforLIFE

Visit Saving Wildcats on You Tube 

Saving Wildcats is supported by the LIFE programme of the European Union.   It is led by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) in collaboration with NatureScot, Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), The Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA), Norden’s Ark, Consejería de Sostenibilidad and Medio Ambiente y Economía Azul de la Junta de Andalucía.  Releases are conducted by Cairngorms Connect.  

Did you see Steve Backshall’s two part programme on badgers recently?  Channel 5 had this amazing couple of hours of TV with Badgers: Their Secret World in which we got to see a wild European badger giving birth on camera.

Badgers: Their Secret World also showed us nine week old cubs emerging from their sett for the first time, and we found out what badgers will do to keep a clean, tidy home.

You can see the episodes here (you need to sign in to Channel 5 to do that)

Which brings us to October – or should we say, #Brocktober – a whole month to celebrate badgers.

The Badger Trust and Scottish Badgers come together to celebrate our love for this native, British wildlife species.  Both charities are dedicated to the conservation and protection of badgers

There’s a special day right at the end of the first week, with National Badger Day on the 6^th (#NBD23). 

Please make Space for Badgers!

This year, the Badger Trust is encouraging us all to make Space for Badgers, and there are a number of ways we can do that:

• Help protect local green spaces so that badgers can thrive in their natural habitats
• Learn how to live with badgers – leave space for them
• Get involved in the State of the Badger, a citizen science project, to help the Trust understand the population health of badgers and ensure they have a future
• Take a look at responsible badger watching tips – so that you can get to know local badgers!
• Use the Trust’s free planning and development guides to help protect badgers’ homes

Please find out how you can make #SpaceforBadgers

#NBD23, #Brocktober #LoveBadgers #SpaceforBadgers

Visit Scottish Badgers

How can you help badgers?

1. Find out more about them! 
2. Be a badger champion – fundraise, educate the next generation of badger champions using the Badger Trust’s free education resources
3. Spread the word about how amazing badgers are and the campaigns to protect them.  Tell people about the threats they face and what can be done to help them.
4. Join the campaign to stop the badger cull.  Over 210,000 badgers have died – and yet they are vital eco engineers;  the Trust says they “rejuvenate the soil and provide shelter and nesting sites for other wildlife, like pollinating insects”.  You can see the reasons why the badger cull doesn’t work here.
5. Give badgers a break – over 50,000 were killed on roads last year so please slow down and report deaths and injuries to the campaign, and raise awareness
6. Developers should have a look at the Badger Trust’s  guide for developers to safeguard badgers from planning and development activities
7. Have a look at Living with Badgers which has advice on badgers & gardens – and what to do if your woof ventures down a badger sett 
8. Sign up for the Badger Trust’s newsletter
9. Become a member of the badger clan and give the Badger Trust your support! 
10. Why not join a local badger group?  Badger groups are run by volunteers and there may be one local to you which you can find out here.  They offer varying services – these depend on the number of volunteers and when they’re available 

Now, Scottish Badgers have ways to get involved too:

Get Sett Scotland is aiming to create a nation of badger champions in Scotland by 2025.  And there are a number of ways you can get involved – such as becoming a Badger Champion or taking part in the national survey of badgers.  You can also donate and become a member, or do some shopping at the Scottish Badger shop.   You can report a badger and you can earn your stripes!

Earn Your Stripes is a skills development to support the next generation of wildlife champions, and it’s a partnership between Scottish Badgers and the Scottish Wildlife Trust.  Although it’s aimed at 16 to 24 year olds, anyone can take part, and thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the course is free!

All you need to do is to complete 4 modules:  Meet the Mammals, Tracker School, Wildlife Conservation and Threats and Championing Wildlife

Why not use this #Brocktober to discover lots about badgers and see what you can do to help them?

Image copyright Badger Trust

It’s Global Bird Weekend on the 13^th, 14^th and 15^th October!

BirdLife International are joining forces with Global Birding and eBird for Global Bird Weekend – it an annual celebration of birds.  

This is a wonderful opportunity to find out about global highways for birds – migration routes called flyways take billions of birds across deserts, mountains and oceans as they migrate.

There are these flyways:

• African-Eurasian flyways links Africa, Europe and Asia
• The Central Asia flyway is used by over 600 migratory bird species
• The East Asian-Australiasian Flyway crosses 37 countries, from Alaska to Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand
• The Americas Flyway has three migratory routes crossing 35 countries, from Southern Argentina to the Arctic Circle in the North

That’s a lot of flapping!

So take a moment this weekend to wonder:  where are the birds you see in the sky flying?  Why are they heading in that direction?  BirdLife have a map to help you see where your flyway goes!

BirdLife International says...

Image copyright BirdLife International

And this is a great chance to help birds all over the world by being a citizen scientist and collect vital data about the birds around you.   However many birds you count, from your garden to a nature reserve, this is a great chance to get involved.   Report your sightings and what you hear on eBird – help scientists acquire a better insight into global bird populations.

“Flock together so birds can soar together.”

Visit Global Birding

Visit eBird

Visit Global bird weekend 2023 - BirdLife International

Calling on everyone in Scotland!  The Scottish Wildlife Trust is asking you to take part in the Great Scottish Squirrel Survey from 2 to 8 October 2023.

Please take part in this squirrel survey
from 2nd to 8th October 2023.

The survey is the 5th one, and Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels is a partnership which is led by the Scottish Wildlife Trust.  It works in priority areas to protect red squirrels from the spread of grey ones. 

So all you need to do is to 

1. Get outdoors
2. Get squirrel spotting - you can find out how to tell red squirrels and grey squirrels apart here
3. Add sightings of squirrels to scottishsquirrels.org.uk wherever you see them - in your garden, in wilder areas etc

This a really important survey.  It helps compare yearly distributions of red and grey squirrels.  

Red squirrels are making a come-back in many areas of Scotland and we need to keep that going!  

You can join a local group here  to help red squirrels.  Visit the Saving Scottish Red  Squirrels website here.

This is to let everyone know that there's the Big Wild Walk 2023 taking place in the UK from 16 to 30 October.

The aim is to raise funds for the Wildlife Trusts.  They are a federation of 46 independent wildlife conservation charities and they cover the UK, from Alderney down in the Channel Islands to Scotland, and south and west Wales to Norfolk and Suffolk.  They have over 911,000 members and over 35,000 volunteers, as well as staff and trustees.  They are formed by groups of people getting together and working with others to make a positive difference to wildlife and future generations, beginning with their own area.  Find out more about the Wildlife Trusts.

You can find your nearest Wildlife Trust here.

Find out more
Image copyright the Wildlife Trusts.

The Wildlife Trusts have set out an ambitious goal to protect at least 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030.  And they need our help to make this happen - they cannot do it alone.  

So why not sign up and set your own Big Wild Walk Challenge?   

This could be a great chance to get children outside and away from those screens, as the Trusts are also giving children a chance to join in with their Hedgehog Walk and Timmy Time.  This challenge is to walk 3km a week - this is the same distance a little hedgehog travels every night!   

Remember, wildlife up and down the country are counting on all of us to do what we can do help them.  Even if you can't do the challenge, why not donate something? 

Find out more from the Wildlife Trusts