Lynx Scotland: Inside the rural community where four big cats were illegally released

Opposite the lay-by where four lynx were dumped illegally in the Scottish Highlands is a driveway down to a livestock farm.

The Dell of Killiehuntly, near Kingussie in the Cairngorms National Park, is home to cattle and some 300 sheep who are looked after by tenant farmers: the McNiven family.

When the first pair of lynx were spotted just over the road from their farm, Mr McNiven and his daughter, Zara, were some 50 miles away from their animals at a livestock sale in Dingwall.

Zara McNiven, who farms with her family at Dell of Killiehuntly near Kingussie | Supplied

“One of the locals phoned us saying ‘there’s lynx right next to the farm gate, in the lay-by’,” said Zara.

The 20-year-old, who is studying agriculture at college, said the family didn’t initially believe what they were hearing.

“When they told us they were definitely lynx we were worried at the time,” she said.

“All the sheep in fields are very close to the roadside.”

The lynx were caught on camera traps within metres of the McNiven's farm last week | RZSS

After the first pair were promptly recaptured by a team from the Royal Zoological Society Scotland (RZSS), the McNivens found out through social media that another two had been spotted near the farm.

“It was just announced on Police Scotland’s Facebook page that there were two more near us,” Zara said.

Despite initial worry for their own animals, Zara said once she saw evidence the lynx were tame, they were less of a concern.

Straw and dead chicks were found in the lay-by where the big cats were spotted suggesting they were domesticated.

Straw, dead chicks and porcupine needles were found at the lay-by where the big cats are said to have been dumped | Katharine Hay

“It’s still unsettling though as they could get hungry enough to make them kill.”

The farmer said the illegal release has reignited polarised conversations over lynx reintroduction in Scotland; a debate that puts her uncertain future of working with livestock where she grew up into sharp focus.

“If lynx get reintroduced, there will be a lot of sheep farmers stopping in this area,” she said.

“People wouldn’t manage to survive.”

In Drumguish, a small crofting hamlet surrounded by woodland that backs onto the site where the lynx were released, residents spoke about concern for their pets.

“My first thought was I’d need to put my dog on the lead if we’re going for a walk as I wasn’t quite sure how many there were or where they were,” one resident said.

There had been rumours in Kingussie that up to six had been released in the area. RZSS said it is highly unlikely there are more but is continuing to monitor using camera traps.

Stuart Annand farms at Ruthven, near Kingussie | Supplied

Stuart Annand, who farms at Ruthven, a family-run upland sheep farm near Kingussie, said the farming community were more concerned for the cats’ welfare when it was quickly realised they were likely domesticated.

“Whoever did it basically liberated house cats with big ears,” he said.

“It was totally irresponsible because these animals never had a chance.

“The general consensus as farmer individuals is it was just ludicrous; taking a tame animal and leaving it in the wild. There was no consideration for the poor lynx chucked out on the coldest night of the year.”

One of the lynx has died since being recaptured. The surviving three have been taken into care at Edinburgh Zoo where they remain in quarantine for 30 days.

Mr Annand said the surrounding rewilding estates, including Wildlands Ltd, which owns the land where the lynx were spotted and who condemned their release, does not have enough food if the big cats were to be reintroduced in the area.

“They’ve shot the deer to minimal numbers, to around one every four hectares to encourage the trees and so there’s nothing left for them to eat.

“If there’s a suitable food source in that environment, you’re not going to have a problem with them preying on sheep. But where it stands at the moment is liberating them on the fringe of agriculture areas, so there’s potentially going to be conflict as there isn’t a decent food source for them on those rewilded areas.”

Mr Annand said tree felling is also taking place in the area where the lynx were found, which put the cats at risk with large lorries travelling on the nearby road.

The local farmers said they felt reassured by the response from the police, RZSS and wild cat teams who led the recapture of the cats.

“It was great to see how everyone came in to clear it up,” Mr Annand added.

“To me that is reassuring that if silliness and extremism prevails, law and order is maintained and the voice of reason is listened to. These are captive cats, get them back in captivity, not ‘let’s leave them out and see what happens’.”

SCOTLAND: The Big Picture (STBP), Wildlands Ltd and RSPB Scotland were among wildlife groups quick to condemn the illegal releases.

Farmers and rewilding campaigners were in agreement, however, that the episode has been detrimental to the wider discussion between various stakeholders on possible lynx reintroduction.

Last year, members of the Cairngorms Crofters and Farmers Community (CCFC) were invited to a lynx study tour in Switzerland, organised by STBP, which supports the reintroduction of lynx, in an effort to engage all corners of the debate.

John Macpherson, secretary of the Cairngorms Crofters and Farmers Community | Katharine Hay

John Macpherson, secretary of the CCFC, said: “I went along with other farmers and crofters and Cairngorm National Park officials to see for ourselves and speak to foresters, farmers and hunters in Switzerland as to how they manage the introduction of lynx over there during the last 50 years.

“It was a good trip to get some background to start the conversation. But it needs a very wide-ranging consultation with all the stakeholders in order to fully appreciate what a reintroduction might look like, if it ever takes place.”

Mr Macpherson said the dumped lynx posed a threat to CCFC members in the area, adding: “Our association wholly condemns this illegal introduction of lynx to the countryside and we hope Police Scotland catch the perpetrators and face the full force the law.”

Steve Micklewright, chief executive of Trees for Life, one of the organisations involved in the Lynx to Scotland project, a three-charity initiative behind the legal reintroduction of the cats, also condemned last week’s lynx releases, saying: “Illegal animal abandonment like this is so irresponsible and wrong.”

He added: “The Lynx to Scotland project is working towards a carefully planned reintroduction of lynx that respects the concerns of farmers and other stakeholders – so that Scotland can once again benefit from having lynx in the natural environment.

“Scotland is one of a handful of European countries still lacking a large terrestrial mammal predator. If we are serious about tackling the nature and climate emergencies, we need lynx back.”

It is almost 45 years since a known big cat was captured in the Scottish Highlands.

A female puma, who was given the name Felicity, became a prime suspect for sheep attacks in and around Cannich, near Glen Affric.

She was eventually caught by a farmer who put down a trap using a cage baited with a sheep's head.

Not everyone, however, believed Felicity was behind the attacks. Wildlife experts at the time described her as elderly, tame and overweight. She also had arthritis.

According to reports at the time, some suggested she was likely an abandoned pet.

Felicity was taken into the care of the Highland Wildlife Park near Kingussie. When she died, her body was preserved and people can visit her lying in a glass cabinet in Inverness Museum and Art Gallery.