Yesterday morning (3 June) Police mounted a massive raid on the Moy Estate near Inverness as part of an ongoing intelligence led operation into allegations of wildlife crime in the area. The operation involved the searching of outbuildings, a large area of open ground, and vehicles, and involved 25 Police officers including specialist wildlife crime officers, search officers, CID and scenes of crime staff. They were assisted by specialists from other agencies including the RSPB and Scottish Natural Heritage. A number of items were removed for forensic examination. The operation has been running for a number of weeks and over…

A year ago, on 29 May 2009, Scotland’s first wild beavers for over 400 years were released into Knapdale Forest, Mid-Argyll. This marked the start of the Scottish Beaver Trial, a five-year time-limited trial reintroduction and a partnership project between the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT), the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) and host Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS). This week marks the first year milestone for the project, which aims to follow the beavers’ activities in the wild and gather information on how the presence of beavers might affect the Scottish environment and determine if the beaver might prosper again…

Staff at the Loch Garten RSPB reserve near Aviemore are celebrating the arrival of a third osprey chick. Breeding pair, EJ and Odin had two chicks hatch last weekend with the third making its arrival yesterday. Three Osprey chicks are being raised by a pair of ospreys at an RSPB reserve in the Highlands. The chicks progress can be monitored on the RSPB webcam which updates images every two minutes although sightings of the chicks are rare at this stage as the adult bird remains on the nest most of the time.

White tailed sea eagles have a minimal impact on lamb mortality according to the results of a scientific study published this week. The study, undertaken by the Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA) on behalf of Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), recorded the fortunes of lambs in the Gairloch peninsula, Wester Ross, from April to mid August last year. Radio tracking technology, the experiences of shepherds, fieldworker observations and examination of debris in nests were all used in the study. It found that sea birds, such as fulmar, were the main source of food for the sea eagles and that less…

Two new reports from Scottish Natural Heritage have yielded positive evidence that the Scottish wildcat is surviving as a distinct species. Scottish wildcat is one of our most endangered mammals and is at greatest risk from hybridisation with feral cats. The two reports investigated the genetic characteristics of species identity and the geographical distribution of Scottish wildcats in our countryside. The species report confirms that Scottish wildcats can be distinguished from feral cats by coat markings. The results will be welcomed by land managers and conservationists alike. Doubt was cast over the identity of Scottish wildcat during a court case…