Quote Originally Posted by Alan H View Post
Jock, "Dubious human activities connected to badgers"....this sound intriguing and , well....probably disgusting. Badger fights?

I'm intrigue'd to know that you saw all that on one single drive back to your home, Jock. So the truth about some species, at least is somewhere between the alarm bells sounding ultimate destruction, and those who shrug and don't care. Actually I would be surprised if Osprey were endangered. They're relatively hardy, can hunt over all sorts of open water and are pretty tolerant of human presence. After all, I see them all the time on Puget Sound, and watched one take a fish out of the sound not 50 feet from my kayak, last summer. I would assume the Scottish osprey are much the same.

Introducing roe and red deer. Yeah, what on earth is the point? In fact, how can you "re-introduce" them, when they're all over the place? (or so I understand).

Seriously, you have boar around your land? I wonder if the primary question about re-introducing boar is further south, rather than the highlands. Here in California the wild pig population is positively booming. Hog/Boar, and there's lots of interbreeding between the native wild boar, introduced (and aggressive European boar) and escaped pigs .... is the #2 hunted species, right behind white-tailed deer. Despite 3,000 + boar being taken in California last year, the population is doing just fine, probably something like 30,000+. Hunting is NOT...NOT the enemy of all species!

Just curious, Jock, have you ever seen a wildcat?

You saw a pine martin? I'm flabbergasted. We have them in the Sierra Nevada, different sub-species but basically a very similar animal and while they are not "rare" they are very secretive and in 30 years of backpacking up in the mountains, I've seen three.

I think this *does it*. I am going for an extended hike in the Cairgorms when I get over there. If the place is crawling with animals like this, I want to SEE them.
The popularity of badger-baiting was a primary reason for the current ban on badger hunting, but where there is a desire for this sort of thing ways will be found. Years ago badgers were found to carry bovine TB and many were gassed, particularly in England, but Jock has far greater knowledge on that subject than I have. In the last fifty years badger meat has reduced in popularity until it is now almost negligible, but the ban may have much to do with that.

Keeping eyes open and sound down. Wildlife in the Highlands is wonderful and diverse, but not always to be seen. I have never, for example, seen an adder. Not that I want to, mind you, and perhaps not having the wish to has stopped me from looking.

I live half the year not too far from Vancouver, Alan, and we have many black bears here. I understand that 27 were trapped in my community in 2005 and transported over the mountain. They were all tagged and in 2008 four of the 18 transported that year wore 05 tags. Racoons and skunks are very common in urban areas and coyotes walk the centre lines of residential streets so they don't get hit by cars ;) The several lynx I have seen have been in the upper Rockies and not at the coast.

Pine martens are a regular sight in the central Highlands. I've not seen wild boar locally, but I understand they are often seen over in Argyll and will, as you pointed out, breed with domestic pigs with great success. That's the same issue we have with the wildcat/feral cat/domestic cat populations throughout the Highlands.

One of the arguments put forth by those in favour of re-introducing wolves has more to do with urbanites' ideas of deer-stalking and so-called blood sports than with balancing nature. Wolves as a pack will hunt the animal least likely to need great energy expense. That will not be the mature red deer. By the way, Scotland presently has a red deer population of something like 350,000; many die for want of forage in the harshest of winters but deer management programs are generally good and hind meat is readily available as venison in butcher shops and restaurants.

Rex