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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| 'Enormous wildcat' found in Aberdeenshire forest | 'Enormous wildcat' found in Aberdeenshire forest |
| (2 months later) | |
| One of the largest wildcats ever recorded in the world is said to have been discovered by field workers in Aberdeenshire's Clashindarroch Forest. | One of the largest wildcats ever recorded in the world is said to have been discovered by field workers in Aberdeenshire's Clashindarroch Forest. |
| Nicknamed the Clashindarroch Beast, it was captured on camera and is estimated to be 4ft (1.2m) from nose to tail. | Nicknamed the Clashindarroch Beast, it was captured on camera and is estimated to be 4ft (1.2m) from nose to tail. |
| The footage was gathered as part of a Scottish wildcat conservation project operating across the Highlands. | The footage was gathered as part of a Scottish wildcat conservation project operating across the Highlands. |
| Remote traps are baited with food or scent, and anytime something passes in front of it the camera shoots video. | Remote traps are baited with food or scent, and anytime something passes in front of it the camera shoots video. |
| Kev Bell, field worker at Wildcat Haven, said: "I've been fortunate to get footage of quite a few of these ghost cats; there's about 10 to 15 of them here in the Clashindarroch. | Kev Bell, field worker at Wildcat Haven, said: "I've been fortunate to get footage of quite a few of these ghost cats; there's about 10 to 15 of them here in the Clashindarroch. |
| "I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw this cat, he is enormous, a magnificent animal." | "I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw this cat, he is enormous, a magnificent animal." |
| 'Rarest animals' | 'Rarest animals' |
| The technology is used around the world to identify populations of rare and elusive species such as wildcats. | The technology is used around the world to identify populations of rare and elusive species such as wildcats. |
| Kev said: "The cameras give us amazing insight to this priceless group of wildcats which have somehow survived here and avoided hybridisation. | Kev said: "The cameras give us amazing insight to this priceless group of wildcats which have somehow survived here and avoided hybridisation. |
| "Some people say that the wildcat doesn't exist anymore but we know different and wildcats like 'The Beast' prove it." | "Some people say that the wildcat doesn't exist anymore but we know different and wildcats like 'The Beast' prove it." |
| Steve Sleigh, another fieldworker with Wildcat Haven, added: "These cats are a vital part of Scotland's wild nature and ecology, and they must be protected wherever they live; they are one of the rarest animals in the world." | Steve Sleigh, another fieldworker with Wildcat Haven, added: "These cats are a vital part of Scotland's wild nature and ecology, and they must be protected wherever they live; they are one of the rarest animals in the world." |
| The project involves the neutering of feral domestic cats across more than 1,000 square miles of the West Highlands in an attempt to curb hybridisation. | |
| The Clashindarroch Beast will continue to be monitored, as well as wildcat populations in Caithness and Lochaber, where the project began a decade ago. | |