THEY are iconic Scottish animals who have been pushed to the edge of extinction by habitat loss and historic attempts to eliminate them.
But now attempts to save the wildcat have been given a boost thanks for another of Scotland's most recognisable icons.
A new tartan has been designed to raise awareness and funds for the Wildcat Haven conservation project on the Ardnamurchan peninsula in the Highlands.
The new tartan has been designed by Canadian graphic artist, Glen Allardyce, with input from kilt and tartan enthusiasts from all over the world, with a design that mirrors the wildcats stripes.
The first bolts of the tartan have been woven by D.C. Dalgliesh in Seilkirk, with over 90 yards produced and sold. Tartan fabric, as well as kilts, skirts and scarves will be sold by Paul Henry Kilts in the UK, while handbags and purses in the tartan being sold by Kimberly Bags in the USA.
Fifteen precedent of the sales price of the tartan material goes to Wildcat Haven to support their ongoing work to save the Scottish Wildcat.
Wildcats, which previously lived all over the UK, have been reduced to a few scattered populations and are threatened by interbreeding with feral housecats.
Some experts believe that fewer than 35 full-blooded Wildcats remain in Scotland, and even the number of hybrid animals may be less than 300.
Wildcat Haven operates a sanctuary on the Ardnamurchan peninsula and is working to expand to Morvern.
All feral cats and low-grade hybrids in the area have been neutered, and all pet cats neutered and inoculated against feline diseases by qualified veterinarians.
Its has also embarked on an educational programs in local schools and expanded to cover 300 square miles of feral-cat-free territory.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article