Wild Scotland

Wild Scotland

Where The Wild Things Are:

ALSO:-Not So Fantastic Mr. Fox?

-Scotland’s Orca’s Struggling

-Warning! Deer Crossing

Is Scotland Ready for the WolvesIs Scotland Ready for the Wolves

Return?Return?

ISSUE NUMBER 1

BRINGING YOU STUNNING IMAGERY AND NEWS ABOUT WILDLIFE AND ECOLOGY.

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RETURN OF THE WOLF:

Should Scotland’s Apex Predators

Come Home?

ForFor all the majestic beauty found in

the Scottish highlands, there is a void

of silence, where howls of the wolf

once echoed. Gray wolves haven’t

roamed the Scottish highlands for

hundreds of years, but recent support

from ecologists are beginning to ask if

reintroduction into Scotland would be

beneficial. The notion of bringing

wolves back is contentious, though,

with local farmers against the idea of

bringing an apex predator back. The

issue to be addressed though is if

Scotland would benefit from this

proposed plan.

Wolves had lived in the UK for

millions of years, and were not only

indigenous to the area but also rife up

and down the country. It is a little easy

to romanticise the wolf in Scotland,

especially in the safety of a wolf-free

environment today. A more realistic

portrait would show the wolves as a

massive pest, killing livestock at

unprecedented levels. And when livestock

wasn’t on the menu, the wolves opted

for a more morbid treat – digging up

human graves for the remains. The

problem got so bad in areas of

Scotland, such as Eddrachillis, that

residents took to burying their dead in

small islands like Handa off the coast.

BY BRUCE ORROCK

Spittals were small huts built up and

down Scotland as a means of protecting

travellers from the vicious predators. The

problem of wolves was a genuine danger

in people’s lives, and in 1427 the order

was made to begin culling wolves in the

UK. 150 years later, and the last wolf in

Scotland were allegedly killed in

Perthshire in 1680. The wolves were a

considerable threat to the people of

Scotland, and so they were wiped from

the countryside in an impressively small

time.

With the wolves gone from

Scotland, new issues seeped into the

Scottish countryside. No major predators

eventually left Scotland with a surplus of

red deer, about 350,000 of them.The

inflated population let to deforestation in

KILLER: The Wolf is an adept hunter,

seen here with a dead chicken.

many areas such as the Caledonian

forest losing habitats for much of the

wildlife found there. Ecologists are

concerned that the culls put in place

by the Government are not enough,

and the wolves could provide a

unique answer to this troubling issue.

Dr. Stewart White is an ecologist and

lecturer at the University of Glasgow,

and has been a strong advocate of

bringing wolves back into Scotland.

“These wolves were in Scotland for

millions of years, long before we got

here. And they could bring back a

true predator to the Scottish

highlands, to curb the skyrocketing

deer population.”

Alongside bringing balance back to

Scottish highlands, the allure of such

a beautiful apex predator is enough

to tempt many to come to Scotland.

It seems like a win-win situation for

all parties. The one point of

contention that is being raised is by

farmers – concerned that the wolves

will once again ravagelivestock and

pose a serious risk to peoples lives.

It seems the future of wolves

is yet to be decided in Scotland, but

the arguments have been made for

both sides. It is difficult to forget

about the plight of the farmer, but it

is equally difficult to ignore the rich

history wolves once had in Scotland.

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Should Scotland’s Apex Predators

Come Home?

3 For Fox Sake:The Headache of Dealing

With Urban Foxes

Scotland’sScotland’s cities have

dealt with the presence of

foxes on their streets

since the 1930’s, and

since then they have

adapted quite nicely.

We’ve put up with their

shrieks during winter, and

their bin raiding with no

real issue – in fact, some

people have grown fond

of these

furry critters. But it’s not

all Basil Brush and The

Fox and the Hound, as

renewed fears of the

dangers of urban foxes

reverberates across cities.

The city dwelling canines

seem to have lost any

inhibitions about human

contact, making human

interactions a more

common affair. They are

also bigger than their

rural counterparts – with

a veritable buffet in our

rubbish bins these

creatures won’t go hungry

any time soon.

With the sight of

foxes increasing, the

public are becoming

concerned for their pet’s

welfare. Rabbits and

guinea pigs are easy

BY BRUCE ORROCK

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targets if left outside in a

hutch, but worryingly dogs

have been attacked in

broad daylight by feral

urban foxes. And fresh

attacks hit headlines

earlier this year after a

fox bit a toddler in

London, severing a finger

and causing facial injuries.

Closer to home in West

Lothian, a man had his

nose and fingers chewed

off by a fox in 2010.

These types of attacks

are very rare, but for

many critics the settling

of urban foxes indicates

that more trouble is on

the way.

Alan O’Connor, aged

24 from Stirling, was

chased by a fox and

attacked while walking his

small dog in a residential

estate. He said: “They

are becoming a lot

braver, I’ve noticed. They

are not intimidated by us

anymore so they will go

for us if we cross

paths.”

Thankfully, the fox was

spooked by an

approaching car diffusing

the situation, but it left a

lasting impression on Mr.

O’Connor. “If I could, I

would hunt and kill every

fox around here, they’re

just too dangerous to

leave unchecked.”

Addressing this

problem is not as simple

as a big hunt,

unfortunately. Studies from

the University of Bristol

show that 70 per cent of

the entire fox population

would need to be killed

for a long period of

time before any sort of

population control

occurred. Professor

Stephen Harris

researches the ecology

of Britain’s foxes at the

University of Bristol, and

knows too well the

issues facing fox

populations. He explained:

“It’s not really

conceivable to wipe out

that many foxes, be it

through poison or hunts

or whatever. Scotland

specifically used to rely

on gamekeepers to

control fox numbers.

Today though, there are

so few gamekeepers that

they don’t make a dent.”

Professor Harris did

mention that nature may

have provided an

answer, in the shape of

sarcoptic mange.

“It’s a nasty disease that

is decimating foxes

across certain cities in

the UK. It has proved to

keep numbers way, way

down in cities like

Bristol.”

The Last Kings of

Scotland

OneOne of our oceans best kept secrets - a unique

pod of killer whales off the West Coast of

Scotland - may vanish before many even know

they exist. What is their story?

BY BRUCE ORROCK

6

TheThe waters off the

British coast can appear

somewhat underwhelming.

Look a little deeper into

the murky grey waters

though and its secrets

begin to bubble up.

Britain’s only native pod

of Orca’s – collectively

known as the West

Coast Community – are

in serious trouble. New

research from the

Hebridean Whale and

Dolphin Trust points to

the population facing

extinction in the next few

decades. The real

concern is that these

beautiful, unique creatures

will vanish before Britain

realises they’re even

there.

Patrolling the entire

West Coast of Britain,

the nine native orcas

consist of four females

and five males. The

most recognizable of

which, named John Coe

by whale watchers, is

the bull male of the pod

and his nearly two meter

tall dorsal fin makes him

instantly noticeable. The

pod resides around the

Isle of Mull, and covers

the entirety of the coast.

The West Coast

Community are not just

the only native pod to

Britain, but the only pod

of killer whales from

Antarctica to make their

way here. Averaging

about a meter larger

than their Arctic

counterparts, this pod

also feeds on other

cetaceans such as

porpoises, as opposed to

the smaller fish Arctic

Orca hunt. Another

unique aspect of the

Community that has been

researched by the HWDT

John CoeJohn Coe: Leader of

the pack with trademark

chunk missing from fin.

is the bond they share

with specific individuals.

Unlike any other pods in

the world, this group will

hunt with a preferred

‘friend’, and then regroup

with the rest after the

hunts. These

characteristics all point to

the West Coast

Community offering vast

amounts of potential

research into this

specialised pod.

Research on the

pod has painted quite a

distressing picture for the

pods future, unfortunately.

With no new whales

being born into the pod,

it seems as though the

whales may not be able

to survive much longer.

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Mary Shelley, a researcher

at HWDT is deeply

concerned British waters

will lose such a unique

collective of cetaceans,

“It’s really looking bleak

for the pod, and we don’t

know why they can’t

reproduce.”

In 2005 a dead calf

washed up on the shore

of Uist, alerting

researchers that something

was wrong. Pollution is a

major possibility, although

as orcas are mammalian

the females may have

reached menopause,

thereby making it

impossible for reproduction.

A final nail in the coffin

is that this pod is so

specialised, that breeding

with Arctic Orcas visiting

over summer would be

impossible. The HWDT

knows time is limited for

this group,so further

research is under way.

The future of these

elusive and majestic sea

creatures seems bleak, but

there may be hope yet.

The potential damage to

the ecosystem is

concerning if the pod

becomes extinct, but that’s

not all that will go. Such

a massive apex predator

patrolling the British waters

is a rare and stunning

sight, and with that gone

all that remains is an

underwhelming, murky grey.

DID YOU KNOW?Scotland has wallabies!

In the 1940’s Lady Colquhoun introduced red necked wallaby to

Inchconnan, an island found in Loch Lomond.

Amazingly, the wallabies have not only survived but fluorished.

Unfortunately, they have also impacted the rare Capercaillie bird which

also nests there.

Sadly, this has brought up the idea of culling these cute marsupials.

8

Oh Deer...Motorists Urged to Watch for Deer

Migration

BY BRUCE ORROCK

ScottishScottish motorists are being warned

of a potential increase in deer causing

accidents on the road. With May just

around the corner, yearling deer are

making their way across Scotland

scouring for territory.Scottish Natural

Heritage (SNH) have partnered with

Transport Scotland to alert drivers of

the oncoming hazards.

Vicki Mowat, Media Relations

Officer for SNH said: “it is extremely

dangerous to have deer wandering

onto the roads in such numbers,so by

alerting the public we can minimize

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the risk to motorists and deer.”

Many high risk roads that will be

affected will have warning signs

displaying messages about the potential

threat of deer on the road.

With an estimated 300,000 red

deer in Scotland, many locals regard

them more as pests than cute

woodland creatures. It is justified, too –

according to the Deer Vehicle

Collisions Project anywhere up to

74,000 incidents on the road are

caused by deer. This builds up

quickly, with deer accidents on the

road costing around £47 million per

year. Add to this an already booming

population and it is a recipe for

disaster.

Dr. Stewart White, an Ecologist at the

University of Glasgow has studied

populations of deer across Scotland.

He said: “This problem will not go

away on its own accord – I feel we

must play a larger role in controlling

the UK’s rising deer population.”

Dr. White also noted that the

increasing numbers of deer in Scotland

could affect more than our roads.

“It’s only a matter of time before our

National Parks become decimated by

too many deer.”

Areas that will be targeted include the

central belts of Glasgow and

Aberdeen, as well as the A9, A90,

M80 and A1.

Fatal Road accident

involving red deer

and motorcyclist.

These new warning

hope to prevent any

more tragedies like

this from happening.