"Moray"
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13th September 2004
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| DATE: | ANIMAL: | LOCATION: |
| Not Known | WOLVES | Keith |
| Febuary 2002 | WILD BOAR | Not Known |
| 9th May 2002 | WILD BOAR | Buckie |
Keith
WOLVES
Is the wolf already loose in Scotland?
By Mark Fraser
Several reports suggest that this may be the case. The first
is my own experiences.
When I lived near Keith away up in the Highlands there was a rumour that a
wolf lived in the forest adjacent to our house. I used to have to collect
firewood from the forest. On one occasion as I took a couple of steps inside
I heard the most frightening howl imaginable, I turned tail and ran, being
the big brave lad that I am. I have heard that howl, along with Hannah on
a couple more occasions from deep inside the forest, I have no idea what made
it, and I had no intentions of finding out. After that I used to skirt the
outer edges of the forest for the firewood.
Of course the area has long been associated with big cat sightings, which is one of the main reasons why Di Francis moved there, who incidentally was one of my neighbours.... well five miles away, but that was close for that area.
Distillery workers at Mulben had many encounters with the area's big cats, and we found one or two bits of evidence that could be put down to large felines. The distillery was half a mile away from us. Locals in the area were well aware of the existence of the big cats and had known about them for some time. I personally have never seen one although my wife has on three occasions, and my stepson once. The lads sighting was particularly frustrating as I was at the back of the house at the time. By the time I was aware what he was shouting at, and reached the front room the animal had gone........ missed by seconds.
I am aware of at least one farmer in that area who gave up keeping sheep because of the large amount of his stock being killed.
Regards the wolf, it was seen in the village of Drummoir, but it disappeared in front of the witnesses eyes!! Or maybe it jumped away so quickly, it just gave the impression of disappearing.
Comments:
I would be interested to hear of any wolf sightings in the British Isles if
you come across any.
Contributed
by: Mark Fraser
Scottish Big Cats.
www.scottishbigcats.org
WILD
BOAR
Apparently the Forestry Commission
have a herd (or should it be sounder, or even singular?) of around 360 wild
boar in their Morayshire woods.
They
belong to a farmer who is chair of the Scottish Wild Boar Association and
they are used by the Commission to scarify the woodland floor. The intention
is to expand the herd over the next few years with the target of a national
herd of 22,000.
Febuary
2002
SAC Conservation Newsletter No62
Buckie
WILD BOARS
Pigs provide boring solution
The
woodland has been largely cleared by the Boars
A new
weapon is being used in Scotland in the fight against the spread of rhododendrons
- Wild Boar. The colourful bushes block the light and prevent other plants
and trees from seeding. A herd of wild boar is being used in an experiment
on a woodland site near Buckie, in Moray. The animals scrape around in the
ground, destroying rhododendrons by eating their roots. In just three weeks,
they have partially cleared the one hectare site. We need to make sure they
actually dig the stuff up and don't just trample it, otherwise it will grow
back with a vengeance
Phil Whitfield Forest district manager Forestry Enterprise said the boars, which are on loan from a local farm, could reduce the need for chemical methods to remove rhododendrons. The tamed animals are close relatives of the boars highly prized in southern Europe for their ability to root up truffles.
Forest district manager Phil Whitfield said the aim was to regenerate forest areas on a small scale to create a more natural woodland environment. Three enclosures The experiment, which has been running for three weeks, followed a successful three-year scheme to use the pigs for preparing small areas of woodland for re-seeding. They have been placed in three half-acre enclosures containing rhododendrons and will be closely monitored to see if they are suitable for the job.
Mr Whitfield said: "We've got some experience that they like rooting things up, but we're not sure if it will work yet and there's a lot of things to consider in the longer term. Rhododendron roots are a tasty target "We have to leave them in the area long enough to do the job, but they could also damage the trees. "We need to make sure they actually dig the stuff up and don't just trample it, otherwise it will grow back with a vengeance. "There is also a concern that we make sure they don't eat the rhododendrons as they're highly poisonous and we don't want them to overly enrich the area with their manure." Mr Whitfield said it would be several months before it was clear whether the experiment was worth developing further and three years before it could be judged a success or failure.
9
May, 2002
BBC News
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