Quote Originally Posted by ThistleDown View Post
The popularity of badger-baiting was a primary reason for the current ban on badger hunting, but where there is a desire for this sort of thing ways will be found. Years ago badgers were found to carry bovine TB and many were gassed, particularly in England, but Jock has far greater knowledge on that subject than I have. In the last fifty years badger meat has reduced in popularity until it is now almost negligible, but the ban may have much to do with that.
People eat badger meat??? I had no idea that badgers carried bovine TB.

Keeping eyes open and sound down. Wildlife in the Highlands is wonderful and diverse, but not always to be seen. I have never, for example, seen an adder. Not that I want to, mind you, and perhaps not having the wish to has stopped me from looking.
Always. There's no need to go tromping around raising a great noise all the time. The best sightings usually happen when you're alert and quiet, as you say. A quiet stroll, a little foray a few yards off the main path and a quiet half-hour rest stop on an exposed rock, that's when you usually see the best things. Regarding adders, I've seen plenty of rattlesnakes in my day, darned near stepped on one on a trail a few years ago, just after it had killed a gopher. It hadn't started eating it yet. I saw the gopher and stepped over it. Two seconds later I saw the head of the snake and covered the next ten yards REALLY fast! . The snake never rattled at me.

I live half the year not too far from Vancouver, Alan, and we have many black bears here. I understand that 27 were trapped in my community in 2005 and transported over the mountain. They were all tagged and in 2008 four of the 18 transported that year wore 05 tags. Racoons and skunks are very common in urban areas and coyotes walk the centre lines of residential streets so they don't get hit by cars ;) The several lynx I have seen have been in the upper Rockies and not at the coast.
"coyotes walk the center line of residential streets so they don't get hit by cars....

Pine martens are a regular sight in the central Highlands. I've not seen wild boar locally, but I understand they are often seen over in Argyll and will, as you pointed out, breed with domestic pigs with great success. That's the same issue we have with the wildcat/feral cat/domestic cat populations throughout the Highlands.

One of the arguments put forth by those in favour of re-introducing wolves has more to do with urbanites' ideas of deer-stalking and so-called blood sports than with balancing nature. Wolves as a pack will hunt the animal least likely to need great energy expense. That will not be the mature red deer. By the way, Scotland presently has a red deer population of something like 350,000; many die for want of forage in the harshest of winters but deer management programs are generally good and hind meat is readily available as venison in butcher shops and restaurants.

Rex