We talked about the Scottish wildcat and the two wildcat kittens that were rescued by Wildcat Haven. The Tiniest Tiger community made a donation to hep support the two rescued wildcats. We also contributed to the purchase of a camera trap. Wildcat Haven is a compassionate conservation program making extensive use of motion-activated cameras hidden in natural habitat which they use to observe wildlife without causing any harm. The images help identify the wildcats in a given area and to identify any feral cats that need neutering. In the spirit of giving, we also donated to purchase an additional plot of land to help WildCat Haven expand and keep doing their good work.
We recently learned about the creation of the Scottish Wildcat Tartan.
The Scottish Wildcat Tartan
Alan Hebert, Glen Allardyce and Barbara Tewksbury share a love of the natural world and the landscape, animals, plants and people of Scotland. They also love tartan, the unique cloth from which kilts are made, that signifies “Scotland”. All three of them are aware of the plight of the Wildcat; the danger of genetic dilution from interbreeding with feral domestic cats and the loss of habitat. They wanted to do something to help. So, they invented a Scottish Wildcat Tartan.
Glen Allardyce provided the artistic “eye’. Barbara Tewksbury contributed her immense knowledge of kilt making and tartan, and Alan handled the fundraising end of the project. They included UK-based kilt maker, Paul Henry to work on distribution of the tartan in the UK. The end result is a wonderful tartan based on the colors of the Scottish wildcat.
The tartan has black representative of the cats’ black stripes. The grey and brown reflect the color of the cats’ coat, and the yellow to match the eyes of the cats. The tartan fabric is being woven by D.C. Dalgliesh in Selkirk, and 15% of the sales price goes to Wildcat Haven.
About the Scottish Wildcat
Scottish Wildcat Photo credit BBC News.
The Scottish wildcat (Felis silvestris grampia), sometimes called the Highland Tiger, is a unique population of the European wildcat isolated for over 9,000 years by the English Channel. They are the largest of the wildcat family, which spreads across Europe, Africa, and Asia and can grow up to twice the size of a domestic cat.
Their fur is thicker than a domestic cat and the coast shows distinctive unbroken black and brown stripes. Spots, broken stripes, or white fur are all indications of hybridization with domestic cats. The Scottish wildcat will have a thick banded tail, perfectly ringed with no dorsal stripe running off the spine. They have retractable claws, exceptional night vision, part-color day vision, excellent hearing and a powerful body shape for sprinting and pouncing.
The Scottish Wildcat Tartan Scarf Giveaway
We thought it would be fun to get a couple of the Scottish Wildcat Tartan scarves and to share one with a member of The Tiniest Tiger community.
One member of The Tiniest Tiger community will receive a 100% wool Wildcat Tartan Scarf.
If you can’t wait and want to get your own Scottish Wildcat Tartan Scarf, Pounce here: Wildcat Haven Lambswool Scarf
How to Enter
Enter your information in the contest widget so we know where to ship if you win.
Pounce over to Wildcat Haven’s website. About Wildcats
Let us know in the comment section below: Tell us something that you learned about the Scottish Wildcat.
This giveaway is open to everyone! Void where prohibited