The Scottish wildcat is one of Britain’s most threatened wild mammals. Legend and lore tell of a fierce animal capable of taking down a man if cornered. Once common, only a small remnant population survives in the Highlands of Scotland and now faces the unlikely threat of genetic dilution by hybridisation. Tracking the Highland Tiger sees nature writer Marianne Taylor go in search of this mysterious cat. But it quickly becomes apparent that the book’s title can be interpreted on several levels.

Tracking the Highland Tiger: In Search of Scottish Wildcats, written by Marianne Taylor, published by Bloomsbury Publishing in June 2019 (hardback, 256 pages)

Tracking the Highland Tiger is a book that works on three interlocking levels. First, there is Taylor’s actual search. In between the factual chapters are reports of trips to the Scottish Highlands, predominantly to Speyside, just north of Cairngorms National Park, and the peninsula of Ardnamurchan in the Western part of Scotland. In beguiling prose, she channels the beauty of the Scottish Highlands as she ventures here several times between 2013 and 2018 in the hope of catching a glimpse of a wild wildcat.

Population estimates for the Scottish wildcat range from as low as 35 to about 2000. But given the remoteness of this area and the elusive and nocturnal habits of this feline, the exact number is anyone’s guess. As Taylor visits these areas, she encounters some of the lucky few who have spotted them. One of her guides in the Speyside area mentions that even for people living and working outdoors in the best possible areas, the likelihood of an encounter is “vanishingly rare”. Similarly, a highly knowledgeable wildlife photographer in Ardnamurchan has managed to snap only a single picture in years. Does Taylor succeed? Well, that would be telling, but her own writing betrays the creeping sensation of it turning into a fool’s errand.

These reports alternate with what is the second level at which this book works, a number of lightly written factual chapters on wildcat biology (for a comprehensive account, see also The Scottish Wildcat). Taylor covers evolutionary relationships in the cat family; the anatomy, physiology, and behaviour of both domestic cats and the closely related Scottish wildcat; as well as a sketch of its life. As she admits, that last one is necessarily somewhat sketchy and leans heavily on observations of free-living European wildcats and feral and domestic cats.

“Unwittingly or not, Taylor’s search for the Scottish wildcat is prominently a search for its identity. Because what, really, is the Scottish wildcat?”

She furthermore explores the Scottish wildcat in myth and legend, as well as the long and bloody history of human-wildcat interactions. With the advent of agriculture, forests were converted to fields and any creature that threatened crop or livestock was deemed vermin to be eradicated. Larger predators such as lynxes and bears were lost centuries ago. Data on wildcat decline in recent centuries comes from a surprising source: the parish records of bounties paid to hunters. Attitudes towards wild predators have only recently started shifting and conservation efforts to save what is left of the Scottish wildcat are now underway.

This leads into the third, most fascinating, but arguably also the most fraught subject of Tracking the Highland Tiger. Unwittingly or not, Taylor’s search for the Scottish wildcat is prominently a search for its identity. Because what, really, is the Scottish wildcat? Not even taxonomists agree amongst each other, many considering it a subspecies, grampia, of the European wildcat Felis silvestris, others saying it is a full-fledged species, Felis grampia, while the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group does not recognize grampia at all. And though the wildcat genome has been sequenced, we do not have an objective scale to decide how much difference in DNA is enough to recognize it as a species, subspecies, or maybe just a distinct subpopulation.

Taylor admits that “wildcats do look a lot like pet tabbies”, which is not helping conservation efforts. Additionally, the Scottish wildcat and our domestic cat are fully genetically compatible (disastrously so, she writes) and can interbreed. With an estimated 1.2 to 1.3 million pet and feral cats in Scotland, the biggest threat is that of genetic dilution through hybridisation. The sad and uncomfortable truth is that it is exceedingly unlikely that there are pure Scottish wildcats left, with all existing individuals carrying a certain fraction of domestic cat genes.

“The whole species concept discussion will give any biologist a headache […] and here you can exactly see why.”

Now, the whole species concept discussion will give any biologist a headache, and here you can exactly see why. What level of genetic purity is sufficient to say a wildcat is still a wildcat? Is it worth conserving a genetically already compromised taxon of dubious status? And should we really be trying to swim against the current, expending great effort to artificially maintain a situation of genetic segregation and stasis? I know that some pragmatic voices argue that these are losing battles not worth fighting, but Taylor is not one of them.

There is more to the Scottish wildcat than its genetic identity, argues Taylor. Fittingly, she sees out the book with the ongoing efforts of two conservation projects. Scottish Wildcat Action focuses on surveys and, foremost, captive breeding. By using coat patterns and measures of genetic purity (the baseline being the wildcat genome obtained from museum specimens), they hope to dilute domestic cat DNA in captive wildcat populations, with an ultimate aim of reintroduction. Wildcat Haven (a name bestowed by Mike Tomkies after his book by the same name) focuses on in situ conservation, establishing conservation areas free of feral and hybrid cats. Both encourage pet owners to neuter their cats and are seeking to deal with the existing feral cat population through trap-neuter-release approaches.

Tracking the Highland Tiger is an eye-opening look at this little-known cat that engages the reader on several levels and is an easy, quick read. Taylor does much to clarify the messy reality of its status as a species, arguing in favour of its conservation with equal measures of passion and reason. Given that even many Scottish people are unfamiliar with their wildcat, this book ought to be read widely.

Disclosure: The publisher provided a review copy of this book. The opinion expressed here is my own, however.

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“The Frayed Atlantic Edge: A Historian’s Journey from Shetland to the Channel“, written by David Gange, published by William Collins (a HarperCollins imprint) in July 2019 (hardback, 404 pages)

If Gange’s aim is praiseworthy, his approach has been nothing less than audacious. He admits that the sensible thing would be to kayak south to north with the prevailing winds at his back. Instead, he chose for disorientation by total immersion, jumping into an alien ocean world like “the hare-brained, ill-prepared flop” of a guga (a gannet chick). Starting from the northernmost tip of Shetland in July 2016, he paddled south, passing Orkney, the Outer Hebrides, the whole western coast of Scotland (just for good measure), the Atlantic seaboard of Ireland, and, finally, the coasts of Wales and Cornwall. Nicely prepared maps of the route open each chapter.

Tackling the journey over the course of a year in two-week intervals, Gange wrote up the book in the two weeks between each period at sea. As a consequence, The Frayed Atlantic Edge starts off as a travel narrative, but the sights, sounds, and smells of the sea soon take a backseat to historical research and arguments, as well as critical analysis of literature and poetry. During landings and short trips inland he talks to village elders, poets, artists, farmers, historians, archaeologists, naturalists, etc. and scours local archives, picking the brains of archivists.

Gange channels his trip in evocative prose. On launching from the Shetland Islands, he is accompanied by “flocks of gannets [that] form like cyclones overhead.” Battling around the northernmost headland of the Orkneys he reflects on the changing coastlines, musing that “if timelessness exists anywhere on earth, it is not in sight of the sea”. The Scottish mountains on Skye, Rum, and Mull are “young rock cascades suspended in motionless pouring”. Off the coast of Ireland “horizons bright with golden light spilled between pewter sky and iron ocean”. While off the coast of Munster sits the stupendous skerry (a small, rocky island) of Skellig Michael. Home to a tiny 6th-century monastery, it is so jagged that only small boats can land here, “all pilgrims sit small and low in the water as if in supplication at these immense altars in the ocean”.

“Gange channels his trip in evocative prose; reflecting on changing coastlines, he muses that “if timelessness exists anywhere on earth, it is not in sight of the sea””

There is plenty here for readers of nature writing to enjoy, and Gange’s trip is studded with wildlife encounters; curious sea-otters, seals, dolphins and whales aplenty. Two colour plate sections contain breathtaking photographs, while the accompanying website contains hundreds more and has other interesting background material. Though the natural beauty and the battle with the elements is a continuous backdrop, this is no mere adventure story. His mission as historian quickly takes over but is no less fascinating.

The big theme of this book is the marginalisation of coastal communities in historical narratives. Obviously, fishing has always been an important activity (see also my review of Fishing: How the Sea Fed Civilization), as have other subsistence activities such as collecting of bird’s eggs and feathers, hunting of seals and cetaceans, and harvesting of seaweed. But, often overlooked, the Atlantic coast has long been an international trade hub, and Gange traces threads to Iceland, the Americas, Scandinavia, and Africa. Historian Barry Cunliffe has done much to highlight this in his book Facing the Ocean: The Atlantic and Its Peoples, 8000 BC to AD 1500, and Gange mentions recent works such as Vast Expanses: A History of the Oceans as a sign that the tide for oceanic histories is turning.

According to Gange, the period leading up to the 19th century marked a sea change. He scoffs at terms such as “the Enlightenment” and “Renaissance” as “an identity politics that values the rich alone”: while big cities such as London and Edinburgh flourished, coastal communities went into near-terminal decline. The modernisation of this era affected numerous aspects, customs, and habits. Modern agricultural methods led to the decline of old farming practices, often degrading the land. Only in the last decade has there been a recognition that traditional crofting practices are the only sustainable form of agriculture in this kind of marginal landscape.

“[…] while big cities such as London and Edinburgh flourished, coastal communities went into near-terminal decline”

Many historic episodes Gange touched on were new for me. I was particularly shocked reading the effect of the Education Acts in the 1870s which sought to standardise education across the British Isles and went hand-in-hand with anti-Gaelic propaganda. It resulted in children who were ill-prepared to value or comprehend local life and who, in the words of an embittered older generation, were educated for one purpose only: to leave their communities to work in the cities.

More recently, Ireland joining the European Economic Zone opened up its waters to international fishing fleets, resulting in “resource-raids inspired by short-term profit in contrast to the long-term custodianship” by local communities. Gange is level-headed enough to not lay the blame with European administrators, but with Irish regulators, insensitive to the needs of their islanders. Similarly, plans by multinationals such as Shell to drill for oil off the Irish coast have met with fierce resistance.

“I was particularly shocked reading the effect of the Education Acts in the 1870s which sought to standardise education across the British Isles and went hand-in-hand with anti-Gaelic propaganda”

Besides the geopolitics, Gange explores the legacy of literature, art, poetry, and (particularly overlooked) oral history. Obviously, they offer a window onto a different era, but recently they have become a vehicle for a renewed interest in local languages. Local archives and historical societies are seeing much footfall, and the opening of local universities means there is a renewed interest in local cultural heritage. I admit that I found some of these sections a bit abstruse, although that reflects on me not being much of an arts and literature buff, rather than on Gange’s writing.

English kayaking literature has a long history, going back to Dunnett & Adam’s exploration of the Highlands in 1934, immortalised in their book The Canoe Boys: The First Epic Scottish Sea Journey by Kayak. Since then, plenty of people have taken to Scottish waters (see the classic Blazing Paddles: A Scottish Coastal Odyssey) or paddled around Ireland (see On Celtic Tides: One Man’s Journey Around Ireland by Sea Kayak, Dances with Waves: Around Ireland by Kayak, or Paddle: A Long Way Around Ireland). Although all of these contain some of it, The Frayed Atlantic Edge stands out for its focus on history over adventure. I expect that those with an interest in the local communities at the margins of the British Isles will devour this book, and it powerfully argues its central message for a rereading of history. But thanks to its evocative writing, it succeeds both as a history book and a travel narrative.

Disclosure: The publisher provided a review copy of this book. The opinion expressed here is my own, however.

You can support this blog using below affiliate links, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases:

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