Scotland's Recovering Wildcats Become TV Stars

The feisty felines are roaming rural regions of Scotland again thanks to the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s Saving Wildcats project. It releases specially bred captive wildcats into the Cairngorms National Park. Now the cats will become TV stars in a two-part documentary, Wildcats: Cait ann an Cunnart. The two-part series, airing on BBC ALBA, follows the journey of the team behind Saving Wildcats and their efforts to prevent the extinction of wildcats in Scotland by breeding and releasing them into the wild. Throughout the course of the docu-series, which covers the first year of releases in 2023, the wildcats face numerous challenges from adjusting to the rugged terrain to dealing with the unpredictable forces of nature. However, the documentary also reveals the rewarding moments of success as they learn to survive and thrive on their own. Saving Wildcats project lead, Dr Helen Senn, said: “This new film really brings to life some of the trials and tribulations of trying to bring back a species from the brink of extinction. “It made me realise just how much has been achieved in a relatively short period of time but also how much work remains to be done.”