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Neil.T said:
Yeah, that is sad. That's a disastrously low number. :(

Really hard to see a way back from that. Noooo!
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Are there not any conservation efforts or do the government just think it's money down the drain? I mean I get that it's pointless if they're ALL hybrids and there's no pure ones, but, do they have any in captivity? (not ideal I know, but if it preserves the species). It's such a shame, it's our only native wildcat!
 
~AyaMachi~ said:
Hey @Neil.T , this makes me very sad :(

Numbering As Few As 35, Pure Scottish Wildcats Face Extinction Through Hybridization
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I remember seeing some of these when I was young. Both in captivity and wild! I guess with so many domestic cats it was inevitable.

There's also this: Red Squirrel bloody Yanks! Again I've seen these both in Scotland and Brownsea Island in the Poole natural harbour.

Although I did hear a report the other day that they were going to have a controlled reintroduction of bears, but I can find it on Google.
 
It's a shame, I see grey squirrels absolutely everywhere, but only seen a red squirrel once in the wild, and once in captivity...
 
I’m fairly lucky with red squirrels. There’s a few around here. Not as many as grey but still a decent amount. They look so much more aesthetically pleasing than the grey ones.
 
I haven't seen a red squirrel since I was a kid. 🙁
'Mon the reds!

~AyaMachi~ said:
Are there not any conservation efforts or do the government just think it's money down the drain? I mean I get that it's pointless if they're ALL hybrids and there's no pure ones, but, do they have any in captivity? (not ideal I know, but if it preserves the species). It's such a shame, it's our only native wildcat!
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I really have no idea whether the Scottish government have anything in place. Probably best not to get me started on them...

There's a wildlife park in Dundee called Camperdown. I haven't been there since I was young either, but I remember they had a lynx. I never ever saw it, though, what with them being nocturnal.

They had foxes, too...
 
We have a fairly large population of albino grey squirrels near where I live, all snow-white. I guess the defect has been in their genes for so long they're almost like a separate species. There would be times when I was at work and you could see 5 or 6 of them together romping around in the grass outside the office window...
 
Phobos said:
I’m fairly lucky with red squirrels. There’s a few around here. Not as many as grey but still a decent amount. They look so much more aesthetically pleasing than the grey ones.
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I agree, I love the red ones, just a lovely russet colour, and in the winter they get little ear tufts.
 
Aren't you meant to kill the grey squirrels because they carry a virus that kills the red variant, apparently you can get in trouble if you catch one and let it live
 
Neil.T said:
I haven't seen a red squirrel since I was a kid. 🙁
'Mon the reds!


I really have no idea whether the Scottish government have anything in place. Probably best not to get me started on them...

There's a wildlife park in Dundee called Camperdown. I haven't been there since I was young either, but I remember they had a lynx. I never ever saw it, though, what with them being nocturnal.

They had foxes, too...
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Nah, it's cool, I knew you wouldn't want to debate the issue of the government so much, I just wondered if they thought it was a worthwhile effort, probably not! We have snow leopards in Colwyn Bay zoo, about 3 of them I think, they're lovely to see (better in the wild obviosuly but I'm not planning a trip to the Himalayas anytime soon!)

I kind of sit on the fence with zoos and such. I've always visited them as a child, and obviously they're geared towards educating the future generations about the plight of many of the planet's species. Yet, I kind of feel sad, because I don't really WANT to see them in cages and enclosures...it's a mixed bag of feelings about it really! I know conservation is imporant, but there are aspects that don't sit well with me. It's like they're just on display for people's entertainment, and I can't help but feel that they're not happy! In Chester Zoo, there's a jaguar, and when I saw it with my Mum once, it was just pacing up and down the same path. I know it's ridiculous to project human emotions onto animals and all that, but...yeah, those are my thoughts!
 
I'm not sure about the grey squirels and the virus thing, I'm not totally aware of it to be honest, but I know that by law, seagulls are protected, so even though they are a pest to holiday-makers, nothing can be done in the way of sorting it. I remember seeing it on the news, and they were reporting seagull attacks on people, but you can't actually do things like take any eggs from the nest to control the population.
 
Neil.T said:
Did you borrow that description from Mickey Flanagan? 😂
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I did get the chicken children from somewhere, but the rest just sounds like attonbrough to me
Phobos said:
I’m fairly lucky with red squirrels. There’s a few around here. Not as many as grey but still a decent amount. They look so much more aesthetically pleasing than the grey ones.
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I had to do some groundwork on the dole before. They had this coalbin thing we had to use to burn old wood. They did say before that some of the squrriels hang around the branches above it, and they've fallen in before, but meh f nature
 
Watanabe Ken said:
apparently you can get in trouble if you catch one and let it live
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Yep, that is 100% true.

~AyaMachi~ said:
We have snow leopards in Colwyn Bay zoo, about 3 of them I think, they're lovely to see
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Wow, they must be amazing to see.

In Edinburgh zoo, there's this row of frankly neglected-looking cages in a bit of a remote area of the site, and they all contain various owls. They don't look very happy at all, which wouldn't be a surprise, given the small size of the cages. I like owls. ☹️

There was a tapir that had just given birth that day. Not even the keepers knew about it at that point, so I was possibly the very first person to see it! That was neat.
 
Yeah, owls are amazing, I love them too ^^ Yeah, I mean, I dunno, I just feel like some of the enclosures could be better in my opinion. They're meant to resemble the habitat of the animal as much as is doable. Chester Zoo just seems hell bent on adding more bits to it though, instad of making improvements to what's already there.
 
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