- 2 days ago
Countryfile - Hamza's Highlands - Scottish Wildcats
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00:00Transcribed by ESO, translated by —
00:30Tonight, under the cover of darkness, I'm going to be joining a group of conservationists
00:54in a secret location to release one of Britain's rarest animals, the Scottish wildcat.
01:02It's a confidential site in the heart of the Cairngorms wilderness, and I'll be taken there
01:09by the Saving Wildcats team, who are based at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland's
01:15Highland Wildlife Park.
01:18The release is part of a wider conservation project aimed at restoring the wildcat population
01:24in the area.
01:26Years of work has gone into this, and now it's finally happening.
01:34Is that a bee?
01:35That was a bee, yeah.
01:36It's a species being brought back from the brink by a dedicated team.
01:41Looks like she's about to hunt.
01:43You can see those eyes.
01:44She's really focused in on something at the moment.
01:47Ah, this is fantastic.
01:49And I've been given the incredible opportunity to join them.
01:52You're the first person who is in a staff who is releasing a wildcat.
01:57Really?
01:59Three wildcats, one release, and no second chances.
02:05Stay still.
02:06We'll also look back through the countryfile archives.
02:12There you are.
02:13Hello, sweetie pies.
02:14To revisit other species bringing Britain's wild side back to life.
02:20The white storks returning to our skies after more than 600 years.
02:25Oh, my gosh.
02:26Wow.
02:27Yeah.
02:28That's a white stork?
02:29Yeah.
02:30Put your hand up towards the bars here.
02:33So they've got the opportunity just to lick and smell.
02:36Oh, I've got a lick then.
02:37The once feared wolf now taking a walk on the not-so-wild side.
02:42We're here to teach people to care about the plight of wolves.
02:45And the elusive pine marten slowly making its comeback.
02:59There's only 15 of them.
03:01This is a huge territory.
03:02You're trying to find a needle in a haystack.
03:04The Saving Wildcats program is working hard to protect the wildcat.
03:28One of our rarest mammals.
03:34Scotland is their last refuge.
03:37And they're being bred here before being released back into the wild.
03:42David Barkley is the conservation manager here.
03:46David.
03:47Hamza.
03:48How you doing?
03:48I'm good, you?
03:49Yeah, very good. Thank you very much.
03:50Great. Do you want to come and have a look inside?
03:52I'd love to. Yes, please.
03:55It's from here at the wildlife park that they monitor the wildcats.
04:00From birth right through to their release.
04:02What are we looking at here, David?
04:05So this is our CCTV monitoring system.
04:07So on the left-hand side, we've got the cameras that show us our pre-release enclosures.
04:12And these are our big natural enclosures that the cats are in before we release them.
04:16And on the right-hand side of the cameras for our breeding enclosures,
04:19where we're producing the kittens, that will be released into the wild.
04:23And how long do they stay in these sort of enclosures?
04:25We'll see the kittens come out maybe from about four weeks onwards.
04:29And then they've got that developmental phase with the parents.
04:33They're in the pre-release enclosures for about six months.
04:36That's from the natural dispersal age away from the parents
04:39to a point where they're sexually mature and sort of young and ready for release into the wild.
04:44How many cats do you have here in the park?
04:47And how many are you monitoring?
04:48Well, we did have 18 cats in the pre-release enclosures up until about three weeks ago,
04:52but we've started releases now.
04:54So we've got seven out.
04:56We've still got 11 in here ready for release.
04:58And then we've got 10 other cats in the breeding enclosures.
05:01We have one litter at the moment, which is great.
05:03So we're again producing more kittens for the future.
05:07There are more than 70 cameras across the centre, filming 24 hours a day.
05:12One of the main objectives for our breeding centres is not just to breed as many cats as possible,
05:20but it's to do it in a way where there's minimum habituation or disturbance from humans.
05:25And that's really important because we want these cats to exhibit all those wild behaviours.
05:30So we can build a breeding centre that's away from people,
05:33but then there's a million-dollar question as well.
05:35If you don't want people to be there, how are we going to observe them?
05:38So that's the reason we installed quite a high-end CCTV monitoring system.
05:45Wildcats look like domestic tabby cats,
05:47but they're stockier with clear bands on their bushy tails.
05:52However, they're a distinct species, solitary and built for life in the wild.
05:59Would it be possible to see if we can find the cat in this enclosure here?
06:04So this is one of our young females.
06:06Oh, it's wonderful. You guys can really follow them here.
06:10Yeah, so they'll quite often move around the edges,
06:13and this is areas where they might come across mice or voles along the fence lines.
06:18And it gives them a chance to sort of have those natural interactions
06:21and even opportunity for natural predation if there's things that are coming through the mesh.
06:27We want to see a range of behaviours,
06:29but the critical ones are any behaviour related to hunting,
06:34whether it's stalking, following a scent trail,
06:37pouncing, capturing something,
06:40or even the food that's put in for them,
06:43seeing that they're hiding it away and they can come and feed on it later.
06:46As a cameraman who always wants to follow wildlife,
06:51and I'm obviously big,
06:53I smell, I make a lot of noise,
06:56this is such a fantastic way to be able to observe wildlife
07:00and capture images without them knowing what's happening.
07:03And this particular cat at the moment looks like she's about to hunt.
07:06You can see those eyes.
07:08She's really focused in on something at the moment.
07:10Look at the stalking behaviour.
07:13Look at this.
07:15Oh, this is fantastic.
07:17And it's the same behaviours between the big cats and small cats.
07:20You can see it in a wild cat here,
07:22and you can see it in a lion or a tiger elsewhere.
07:24Is there like a checklist of some of the things that you need to see
07:28before that particular cat is eligible to be released into the wild?
07:32For every cat that leaves, we have a checklist,
07:34and we ask these critical questions.
07:36Can the cat find food naturally?
07:38Can they exhibit natural behaviours?
07:41Have they got natural activity patterns?
07:42All of these types of questions.
07:44And when we answer them, then we say the cat's ready.
07:47And then after that, we'll follow up with a veterinary health check,
07:50which is equally as important to make sure the cat's in the best physical condition.
07:53That's amazing.
07:57There are three wild cats who have passed with flying colours,
08:01and they are ready to be released.
08:04Dusk and dawn are when the wild cats are most active.
08:08So this is a job that needs to be done in the early hours,
08:11when there is less chance of disturbance.
08:16And I have the rare honour of helping them take their first steps to freedom.
08:23It's 2.30 in the morning,
08:26and I'm going to be releasing a wild cat into the wild.
08:32And in fact, not just one, three of them.
08:35I hear about reintroduction projects all the time.
08:38I'm a naturalist.
08:39I love nature.
08:40But to be able to get given the chance to physically open the door
08:43and release these animals into the wild,
08:47God, it's going to be cool.
08:51This is going to be awesome.
08:57Wildcats aren't the only species being brought back from the brink
09:01by passionate conservationists.
09:02Early this year, Vic was in West Sussex,
09:06where the skies are being reclaimed by one very special bird,
09:11the white stork.
09:14Last spotted nesting in the UK 600 years ago,
09:18the white stork has been breeding at NEP since 2020.
09:22And people are flocking here, hoping to get a glimpse.
09:25So I've come to the epicenter of their revival,
09:30binoculars at the ready,
09:32hoping to become the newest member of the Stork Spotters Club.
09:35Now, the only problem is,
09:36they do have a tendency to nest right at the top of the tree canopy.
09:41I've begged myself an extremely well-qualified stork safari guide
09:46in the form of Isabella Tree,
09:49co-founder of NEP Wilding.
09:51The estate was once intensively farmed,
09:56but since 2001 has been devoted to rewilding the land.
10:01How many do you have?
10:02Well, I think it's very, very difficult to keep up,
10:05but I think we have about 50 flying birds.
10:07OK.
10:08And then in our pen,
10:09which is the kind of like the nucleus of the colony,
10:12we have about 20 or so non-flying birds.
10:16The first breeding birds on the estate
10:19came from an injury rehabilitation centre in Poland eight years ago.
10:23Though they couldn't fly anymore,
10:25they could still reproduce
10:26and act as a beacon for potential partners.
10:32They're, you know, coming and going all the time,
10:34and the wonder of it all
10:35is that they're now attracting wild birds in from Europe.
10:39What sort of visual cues or audio cues
10:42should we be looking out for?
10:43Visually, I mean, they are just enormous white birds.
10:46I mean, when they're flying, they're like a kind of barn door.
10:48They're huge.
10:50They've got this enormous red beak.
10:53They've got red legs, white and black wings,
10:56and they do this amazing bill clattering.
10:59When they partner up,
11:10the sort of bonding is the bill clattering noise.
11:14And you can even see the chicks begin to learn
11:16to bill clatter when they're just a few days old.
11:22It's thought that the species was driven to extinction
11:25by a combination of habitat loss and hunting,
11:28with the last known nesting pair recorded in Edinburgh in 1416.
11:33And that's why NEP, with its rewilded landscape,
11:36was a perfect site to take part in the UK white stork revival.
11:42So if you can imagine that this whole area
11:45was just arable fields,
11:47and everything that has come up since
11:49is just amazing for insects,
11:51which, of course, the storks love.
11:52That's mainly their food.
11:54But they love grasshoppers.
11:56They'll eat beetles.
11:57In the winter, they'll probe the ground for earthworms.
12:00So all this now is a kind of cornucopia for them.
12:04But also we've got these great mature oaks,
12:07which they love nesting in.
12:09And then all this kind of open ground
12:11where they can kind of walk about, stalk about.
12:15Confirmation that this is high-tier habitat
12:18for white storks.
12:19Oh, my gosh.
12:22Wow.
12:23Is that...
12:23There you are.
12:24Yeah.
12:24That's a white stork?
12:25Yeah.
12:26Doesn't take long.
12:28So they're nesting right in the tops of our oak trees.
12:31And, yeah, there you are.
12:32You've got a stork on its nest,
12:34and there will be chicks in there.
12:36I can't believe we've just seen one straight off the bat.
12:39Oh, my gosh.
12:48I didn't expect to see one so fast.
12:50He looks majestic,
12:51the way he's just sort of atop that tree,
12:53so high up, so huge.
12:55That nest is enormous.
12:56I know.
12:56I love the way they kind of look down on you
12:58very kind of imperiously.
13:00Yeah.
13:01Yeah, they're huge things.
13:02And those nests, you know,
13:04after a few years,
13:05they can weigh as much as a ton.
13:07It's a real work of architecture.
13:09Isn't it?
13:09Yeah.
13:10I love the way he's just popping out of there
13:12and surveying as well.
13:14Yeah.
13:14And it seems...
13:16Oh, the span.
13:18Look at that wing.
13:19Where's he going?
13:20Because within that nest,
13:21there'll be babies, right?
13:22There'll be chicks.
13:23There will be.
13:23I think there's chicks in this nest for sure.
13:25And it's probably just going off to find some food.
13:32White storks can have a wingspan
13:34of more than two metres.
13:36But even for an imposing figure such as this,
13:40safety is in numbers.
13:42We have red kite.
13:43We have buzzards.
13:44We have all five species of owl here now.
13:47And so there's a lot of predators
13:49for their chicks and eggs.
13:51And that's why they need the colony.
13:52And you'll see other storks coming in
13:55if the red kites get too close to see them off.
13:58Right.
13:58And you'll always find one parent looking after them.
14:02They're very conscientious parents.
14:04So why is it an important thing
14:19that we do look out for the storks?
14:21Why is the revival necessary?
14:23I think it's just so important.
14:25We focus so much, I think, in Britain
14:26on just conserving the scraps of what we've got left.
14:31And we've forgotten about all the species we've lost.
14:35And so to have white storks back in our skies
14:38after, say, 600, 700 years
14:40is a real story of hope.
14:43And, yeah, we're being applauded there.
14:45Isabella wants to show how everyone can enjoy the efforts of the project
14:54no matter where they are.
14:56So this is Anja and Bartek.
15:00So they were born to Polish birds
15:02that had come here from Warsaw Zoo.
15:05So these are now free-flying birds.
15:07This is the second year they've had chicks.
15:09So they'll head off as fledglings this year, probably.
15:13They might venture as far as Spain or even Morocco.
15:16I'm completely addicted to this.
15:19I have it on my second screen
15:21and I'm, you know, I'm often watching.
15:23I just can't...
15:23So anyone can be tuning in?
15:25Anyone can tune in.
15:25And we now have tens of thousands of people who watch this.
15:29It's so brilliant that you're able to monitor that colony,
15:33its dynamics, the way that they're breeding.
15:35We've already had seven birds from the project
15:38who've made it back here and nested and brought up chicks.
15:42So that's an enormous success.
15:43It shows that this is a viable colony
15:46and they know where they're from.
15:49But, you know, eventually they'll start dispersing
15:51across the whole southeast of England.
15:53You know, let's have them nesting in the middle of London.
15:56Wouldn't it be amazing?
15:58A total of 45 storks have now fledged at NEP
16:02and all three of Bartek and Anja's chicks have flown the nest.
16:08Over autumn and winter, the team hopes for public sightings
16:12as they begin their first migration south.
16:16And hopefully, in a few years' time,
16:18they'll be back in Poland to breed, where it all began.
16:30It's in the middle of the night in the Scottish Highlands
16:33and I haven't got a clue where I'm going.
16:38This is my ride.
16:40Perfect.
16:41Bang on time.
16:42But what I do know is that I'm on my way to take part
16:46in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
16:48to release three wildcats into the wild.
16:52Ready to release a wildcat?
16:54Oh, yeah, of course.
16:55Estelle Morgan is team leader for the project.
17:04Together, we're travelling to a confidential release site
17:07where the wildcats stay in specially built enclosures
17:10before their release.
17:14When it comes to the actual release of the cats,
17:19what am I going to be expecting?
17:22What we want is everything to be really calm and really quiet.
17:26The cats are housed in soft-release enclosures
17:29and the cats have been here for a period of days already,
17:34so they've had the opportunity to get used to their surroundings
17:38and settle down.
17:40We've been coming every single day to check their okay
17:41and to feed them and to monitor them.
17:43We'll go and open the hatches
17:45and the cats will just wake up when we've left
17:49and go and explore and then be like,
17:50oh, the hatch is open, what's out here?
17:51We'll go and go and explore.
17:52You know, that's the ideal.
17:57How many releases have happened?
18:00We have released 28 in total
18:02and this morning we're releasing another three.
18:06We have got a male and two females.
18:09The male that we're releasing, his name is Moranji
18:12and he is quite an inquisitive cat
18:15and I'd be really interested to see what he does
18:18navigating life all by himself.
18:20We're releasing one of my favourite cats, she is called Stovey.
18:24She has been such a busy cat, she is so nosy, she interacts with everything,
18:29she's always playing, she's always jumping and whizzing around.
18:33And it's going to be really cool to see, you know, how they navigate all of this
18:37and how they find food and, you know, the next phase in their journey.
18:44Along with Stovey and Moranji is Moth, another female.
18:49This is the project's third year of releases, but it doesn't make today's conservation efforts
18:55any less remarkable.
18:56In 2019, the population was considered functionally extinct in the wild.
19:03Habitat loss, persecution and more recently,
19:06breeding with domestic cats left the wildcat population on the brink.
19:11How are you feeling about all of this?
19:15Nervous, but excited.
19:17You know, this is what we all work towards, is this particular point.
19:23We quite literally saw these cats that we're releasing today be created.
19:28And we've been a part of their entire journey up till this point.
19:31This is potentially the last time that we may ever have eyes on these cats.
19:36They may never walk in front of a camera trap.
19:38So it's the last time that we might see some of them.
19:44To actually get given the privilege of releasing three wildcats into the wild is something special.
19:52You know, you're the first person who is in project staff who is releasing a wildcat.
19:58Really?
19:59Yeah.
19:59That's an honour.
20:00That is an honour indeed.
20:05Ready?
20:06Yeah.
20:08As soon as we go outside to minimise any of the stress to the cats,
20:12we don't want them to hear us talking.
20:14So to minimise that, the crew has to stay behind.
20:19And this is a special camera because it's a night vision camera.
20:24And I'll be able to go in there and hopefully see how this process is done.
20:29And if we're lucky, we might be able to see a cat.
20:31But I am beyond excited.
20:34I'm so excited.
20:36I'm so excited.
20:36While this release is just getting underway, other rare species across the UK have already started making a comeback.
20:47In January this year, Anita headed to Dartmoor to help track one of them.
20:54Four months ago, the Two Moors Pine Martin project released 15 of these bushy-tailed tree lovers into Dartmoor National Park,
21:09an area where they once would have been prolific.
21:13But the work hasn't stopped there.
21:18Soon, the team will lose the precious ability to track the Pine Martins when their radio collars fall off.
21:24So measuring the success of the reintroduction will depend on other methods of monitoring,
21:30which field manager Daniel Brown is busy setting up.
21:34They're actually starting to establish their first territories now.
21:37So we're looking to get more information about how they're utilising those spaces.
21:42And also looking at their conditions, so looking at things like their size and just make sure they're doing okay.
21:47Pine Martins generally prefer to den up in the trees, that's where they feel the safest, they're out of the way of predators.
21:55But they will occasionally use features underground, so things like these fallen root plates could be perfect denning opportunities.
22:03So what we're looking to do is potentially set up a few cameras around here strategically,
22:07just to get a sense of what sort of den sites they might be using.
22:10We've got ourselves a wildlife camera here, a pretty standard camera.
22:13Yep.
22:14We can use this, this tree's in a good location.
22:16So if you can give me a hand.
22:18So you think that you're making a sort of educated guess that that's a position.
22:21Yeah.
22:21If they were to use this, obviously they're going to be quite low down to the ground,
22:26so we're looking to set this up.
22:27Yeah.
22:28Shall I hold that?
22:28If you can hold that one.
22:29There you go.
22:31So how many of these are you going to put around?
22:33In this particular wood, we'd maybe put one out every two hectares.
22:37So a territory, an individual Pine Martin territory,
22:41can be something in the order of about two, three hundred hectares.
22:44Surely tracking these.
22:45There's only 15 of them.
22:46It's just a huge territory.
22:48You're trying to find a needle in a haystack.
22:50What we're doing now with this kind of work is,
22:53this is the point where you need to kind of get inside the head of a Pine Martin
22:56and start thinking about how they're actually using these spaces.
22:59And you can, you know, you can really up your chances of actually capturing some nice footage that way.
23:06So that's all good to go.
23:07It's on 24 hours.
23:08I've put it on video, so hopefully we'll get some nice shots of behaviour as well.
23:12Wonderful.
23:13Shall we do another?
23:14Yeah, definitely.
23:14So somewhere quite nearby or?
23:16I'm thinking just on the next one on that edge down there.
23:20Yeah.
23:23And why reintroduce them in the first place?
23:26What's the benefit?
23:27Pine Martins are a native species.
23:29They're perfectly adapted to our woodlands.
23:32They're generalists in terms of their dietary preference,
23:35which means they have an overall balancing effect on the kind of ecosystem within woodlands.
23:40They're also really, they really love fruit in the autumn as well.
23:44So actually they play a role in terms of seed dispersal as well.
23:47So things like hawthorn and rowan,
23:48they're actually moving quite large distances across our landscape.
23:52And I can tell by the look in your eye that you're quite excited to have them here.
23:55It's been amazing.
23:57It's been fascinating actually driving them down from Scotland.
24:00We've got to be really intimate with these creatures
24:02and now looking at how they're utilising the landscape.
24:05They've all picked very different spots to live in
24:08and they're all utilising their spaces in very different ways.
24:11So they're, yeah, absolutely fascinating.
24:13And it's a real privilege to be part of this project.
24:15And fair.
24:17The rollout of the cameras is already providing the team with footage of the new population.
24:25Field officer Ali North has overseen the team's novel solution
24:28to the problem of who's who.
24:33Hey, Ali.
24:34Hello.
24:34Can I give you a hand?
24:35Yeah, absolutely.
24:37I think it's in.
24:39Yeah.
24:39Why a pipe?
24:40So basically we want to build a device that we can put smelly food in
24:45that's going to encourage the pine martin to stand up
24:48so it's showing its bib to us.
24:51That's because the markings on their bib or chest is unique to each pine martin.
24:57And to entice them to show off to the cameras,
25:00we're filling the trap with a delicious combo of peanut butter, fish oil and sardines.
25:07When all of the animals went through their health checks up in Scotland before they came down,
25:11we have photos of all of these bib patterns.
25:14So we essentially have a line-up of all our animals
25:17and for all the camera footage that we're getting back in,
25:21we'll be able to have that next to us to work out who's who.
25:24And we're hoping that they'll breed as well, yeah.
25:26So working out then if there's new animals, new bibs,
25:31and adding that to our bibliography of pine martins.
25:35Bibliography, very good.
25:38We've got the camera traps up.
25:39We've even got a bait pole.
25:40Which all helps to continue monitoring the pine martins
25:45as they settle into their new home.
25:48And the team are even helping with that.
25:52So...
25:53Can I have a look inside?
25:54Yeah, please do.
25:55Okay, what happens in this?
25:56So the compartment is nice and secure away from the elements,
26:00nice warm space,
26:01so that's where a female will hopefully go and potentially breed with kits.
26:07I see.
26:08So basically the scene is set.
26:10We just need them to do their part now.
26:13So what's the purpose of this, you know, across the nation?
26:15What's the hope?
26:17So this is part of a national strategy, really,
26:20to help the species recover across the whole of the UK.
26:25So there are other reintroduction projects that have already happened
26:28so that it can all join up with existing populations elsewhere.
26:32Yeah, it's really exciting for future generations.
26:34And hopefully that's the final,
26:36to have a resilient population across England and Wales.
26:39Hopefully that's something we can look forward to in the coming decades.
26:42Since filming, the Pine Martin population has been on the up
26:57and the team have confirmed their first ever kits recorded on camera.
27:03Back in the highlands, the time has come.
27:19I'm about to witness a moment very few people get to see.
27:24See you guys later on.
27:26Have fun.
27:29A top predator returning to its native habitat.
27:33That's Marangi, the male.
27:54Marangi stays down.
27:58There are three enclosures, each housing a wildcat.
28:15And in this one, Marangi is far from asleep.
28:22We're leaving some food for each wildcat.
28:35Hopefully, it will entice them out once we've left.
28:44Now, it's my turn.
28:46You can open that one, isn't there?
28:48Absolutely.
28:49So, you can open that one, isn't there?
28:50Absolutely.
28:51So, you can open that one, isn't there?
28:52Yep.
28:53And then, just do exactly one.
28:55So, it's up there, there it is.
28:57Pen number two.
28:59We're being watched very closely.
29:13I've been told to put the latch on the outside of the door,
29:20so it won't accidentally close after we've left.
29:24Just one more wildcat to set free.
29:38All done.
29:51Now, time to move away as quickly as possible.
30:05As day breaks, normal service can be resumed.
30:12How cool was that?
30:15These guys are absolutely phenomenal.
30:18You can see why they are truly wildcats.
30:22They don't want us to be anywhere near them.
30:25They've got their ears pinned to the side,
30:27and they're hunkered down just out of the way.
30:29They are majestic.
30:31They are beautiful.
30:32And they are so wild.
30:34Ready to go?
30:35They're ready to go.
30:36That's it.
30:37All we've got to do now is just vacate the premises,
30:41and hopefully we'll see them in the camera traps,
30:43coming out and having their own little bit of food.
30:46Thank you so much.
30:48That was amazing.
30:53While not every endangered species will make a comeback,
30:57reintroductions like this offer a taste of what a wilder Briton
31:01might have once looked like.
31:03John had a glimpse for himself when he took a walk on the wild side.
31:16I've come to the snow-capped fells of Cumbria.
31:21But centuries ago, it wasn't just the landscape around here that was wild.
31:25The hills and fells of this region were home to ferocious animals
31:30that struck fear into the hearts of local people.
31:35And the wildest of them all was the wolf.
31:44This is called Humphrey Head,
31:46and it's said that back in the 1390s,
31:48the very last wolf in England was speared to death up there
31:52after killing a child from a nearby village.
31:55Or so the story goes.
31:59From the Humphrey Head wolf to Little Red Riding Hood,
32:02wolves have always made a good subject for stories,
32:05usually as the baddies.
32:08But one Cumbrian couple are keen to separate the fact
32:11from the fairy tale.
32:13Just a stone's throw from Humphrey Head,
32:17Dee and Daniel Ashman offer people the chance to walk with wolves.
32:23To meet them, I've come to private land,
32:25well off the beaten track.
32:30Ah, Dee, it's Daniel. Good to see you.
32:31Good morning.
32:32Good morning to you.
32:33And it's the first time I've ever seen wolves in the back of a truck.
32:37This is Kajika and this is Maske.
32:40They're great names.
32:41Yeah, they're Native American Indian names.
32:43Maske means strong and Kajika means walks without sound.
32:47And they're an F3 hybrid.
32:48And what that means is we've crossed a pure wolf
32:51with a Czechoslovakian wolf dog to third generation.
32:55Because they're hybrids,
32:56humans are legally allowed to get closer to them
32:59and interact more than they will be able to do with pure wolves.
33:03And for us, it's conservation by connection.
33:05We're not here to teach people about what a wolf hybrid is.
33:08We're here to teach people to care about the plight of wolves
33:11and how wolves affect an ecosystem.
33:13And they still look pretty much like wolves to me.
33:15They do. Handsome creatures, aren't they?
33:16Yeah, they're beautiful. Yeah, they really are.
33:18So, do I have to introduce myself to them, Daniel?
33:20And put your hand up towards the bars here.
33:23So, they've got the opportunity just to lick and smell them.
33:26Oh, I got a lick then.
33:28Had a lick from a wolf.
33:29That's the first time that's ever happened.
33:31So, they've accepted me, do you think?
33:33They have, yes, yes.
33:35You are part of the pack.
33:36Good. So, we can let them out now then.
33:38We'll let them out.
33:44And off we go.
33:45Understanding just how wolves communicate with one another
33:53and the complex social structure of the pack is important to Dee and Daniel.
33:58Is it at all risky doing this?
34:00No. Even a wild wolf is actually a suspicious but actually a social animal.
34:05If people come across wolves in the wild, they're more likely to run away than anything else.
34:11Anything we shouldn't do?
34:13Well, the most important thing is don't bend down.
34:16Really? Why?
34:17Because that's actually inviting them.
34:19If you go down to greet them, bend down to greet them, they'll assume you are greeting them.
34:23And that's like saying to them, put my neck in your mouth.
34:26Oh, they want to play?
34:27So, they would.
34:28Yeah, they'll greet you and then they'll start playing.
34:30I don't fancy my neck in your mouth, mate.
34:33He's very gentle.
34:36With permission from private landowners, we're able to let the wolves run freely inside a fenced enclosure.
34:43There we are.
34:47Off they go.
34:50Here, you can really appreciate their superb predatory powers.
34:58We as humans have 400 sensory receptors in our nose.
35:02They have over 200 million.
35:04And our 400 allows us to smell a trillion cents.
35:08So, you can imagine what 200 million does for you.
35:11That's why they never stop.
35:12They're always on the alert, aren't they?
35:13They're always on the goal.
35:14They're always smelling and looking.
35:16The wolf is the perfect all-terrain mammal.
35:19They can run.
35:20They can jump.
35:21They can swim.
35:22They can climb up steep areas of screed or embankment.
35:25For that ability, they've got fully developed webbed feet.
35:29They're webbed right up to the nail bed.
35:32And also, they've got a dual-layered coat.
35:34They've got their inner thermal layer.
35:37And then, they've got their outer layer of fur, traditionally known as guard hairs.
35:44And the hairs that make up the coat are hollow, like a polar bear's, allowing them to tolerate temperatures as low as minus 40.
35:51It makes our winters rather mild for them.
35:54So, lots to be learnt, then, from walking with wolves.
35:56Yeah.
35:57And, of course, they do have their classic form of communication, don't they?
36:00The howl.
36:01Yeah, there's lots of different howls.
36:03There isn't one magical howl that does everything.
36:05There's lots of different ones.
36:06And they all change in tone and structure, depending on what they're trying to say.
36:09And can you do them to communicate with these?
36:11We can, yes.
36:12The one we use the most is a family bonding howl.
36:15And what does that sound like, then?
36:17You do it first, and I'll try and copy and see what happens.
36:20We'll see how it goes.
36:22Whoa.
36:25Oh!
36:26Whoa!
36:27Whoa!
36:28Whoa!
36:29Whoa!
36:30Whoa!
36:31Whoa!
36:32Whoa!
36:33Howling wolves!
36:48It seems to me that wolves are much misunderstood creatures.
36:51It probably goes back to those childhood tales of the big bad wolf.
36:55But having just walked with them and howled with them,
36:58it's made me realise that they're in fact highly intelligent,
37:02very social creatures, really worthy of our respect.
37:06The Wildcat release early this morning was a once-in-a-lifetime moment for me.
37:26But now I want to know if the trio have left their soft enclosures
37:31to get their first taste of freedom.
37:36I am back at the Highland Wildlife Park HQ
37:39to find out from Louise Hughes, who's the field operations manager.
37:45So, excitingly, at about ten past six this morning,
37:50we had one of them leaving the pens.
37:53Come on!
37:54Yeah, so...
37:55Do we know which one?
37:56It was Morangi.
37:57OK, the male?
37:58The male one, yeah.
37:59Oh, fantastic.
38:00He was giving me evils, I must admit.
38:01Oh, yeah?
38:02He was kind of just sat there looking at me,
38:04funny with his ears to the side, not wanting to interact,
38:07but I presume that's what we want.
38:09We want an animal that doesn't like humans,
38:11so that it stays away from humans.
38:13Yeah, hopefully.
38:15What's going to happen next?
38:16Yeah.
38:17What's going to happen? Where are they going to go?
38:19This is it.
38:20Wow.
38:21What's that like for you, Laura?
38:23Hugely rewarding.
38:24OK.
38:25Yeah, hugely rewarding.
38:28The team works in close collaboration
38:30with landowners, farmers and foresters
38:33to make sure the Wildcats' return is a success,
38:36both for the animals and the community.
38:39You must be so happy seeing them leave a pen,
38:46but do you have any concerns?
38:48You always have a concern that they're not going to be able
38:52to fend for themselves.
38:54We keep a close eye on them and step in if we really feel
38:57we need to, but it's a wild world out there.
39:01You know, there's roads that they have to navigate,
39:04there's humans they might encounter, but otherwise,
39:09they should just hopefully go and find a place to live
39:13and build their territory, and there are other cats,
39:16you know, now in and around this area,
39:18so hopefully he'll bump into one of the ones
39:20that has been released over the last couple of years,
39:22and you never know, it could be a female,
39:24and then we could get kittens.
39:26Now, if you want your own wildlife encounter,
39:36in fact, a whole year of them,
39:39then why not get yourself the Countryfile calendar?
39:42Here's John with the details of how you can get yours.
39:48It costs ÂŁ11.99, which includes UK delivery.
39:53You can go to our website, bbc.co.uk forward slash countryfile,
39:58where you'll find a link to the online order page.
40:02Or you can call 0330-333-4564 to place your order by phone.
40:11Standard geographic charges will apply to both landlines and mobiles.
40:16The phone line will be available from Monday to Friday,
40:219am to 5pm,
40:23and Saturdays from 10am to 4pm.
40:27If you prefer to order by post,
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40:42and please make your cheques payable to BBC Countryfile Calendar.
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40:51will be donated to BBC Children in Need.
40:54Back to wild encounters of a different kind.
41:01Not all rewilding efforts involve animals on the brink.
41:06Back in February, Matt was on Bodmin Moor,
41:09meeting some native pigs doing their bit for conservation.
41:13Hellmintore lies in the heart of Cornwall,
41:23just south of Bodmin Moor.
41:25It was an industrial landscape used for tin mining
41:28as far back as the medieval ages,
41:31to as recently as 60 years ago.
41:34Since then, it's become a patchwork of different habitats for wildlife,
41:39so much so it's now a special area of conservation.
41:45That's in part help from a new rewilding project.
41:48Cornwall Wildlife Trust are aiming to transform
41:51large swathes of hellmintore by using native breeds
41:55to kickstart soil regeneration,
41:58beginning with their new acquisition, Creeny Farm.
42:02Reserve Manager for the Trust, Andy Collins,
42:05is in charge of turning this former farm
42:07back into a haven for wildlife.
42:10What kind of stuff have you got here already?
42:13So we've got our kind of open habitat,
42:15so we've got heathland interspersed with acid grassland,
42:18you've then got your quaking bog and mire
42:20that shakes when you're standing on it.
42:22Then you've got your kind of more closed habitat,
42:24so you've got your scrubland around the outside,
42:26lots going on there.
42:28We want to get natural processes going,
42:31so bring in animals and species that will allow that habitat
42:34to almost sustain itself to a certain extent.
42:37Right, and so what are you doing with this section at the moment?
42:40What we're doing is a bit of a trial with pig grazing.
42:43We've got three pigs on here at the minute,
42:44so we've got Tamworths, which is a native breed.
42:47How long have you had them on here?
42:48So, literally, we released them this morning.
42:50Did you?
42:51Oh, cool.
42:52It's like a kid in a sweet shop at the minute.
42:54They're running around everywhere.
42:55Oh, well, can we go and have a look and see what they're up to?
42:57We'll have a look at it, yeah.
42:58Might be a bit of a...
42:59Bit of a search.
43:00Bit of a search, yeah.
43:01Yeah, you start at the church and aren't...
43:05Secret weapon.
43:06There we go.
43:07Just a few nuts to bring them in.
43:08So you expect them then, or you're hoping them
43:10to have an impact on all of this land here?
43:12Yeah, so they will break up the sward,
43:14the thatch that we have in here,
43:16suppress some of the more dominant plant species,
43:18allowing others to come through.
43:20I'm sure when you've been digging in your garden, Matt,
43:22you'll find that a robin or a blackbird
43:24suddenly appears out of nowhere.
43:26That's exactly what happens with the pigs.
43:28You have a little entourage of birds following them around
43:31because they're revealing seed,
43:33but also disturbing invertebrates that are in the soil,
43:35and it gives foraging opportunities to other creatures.
43:39Oh, here they come.
43:41Go, pigs!
43:43Come on!
43:44There you are.
43:45Hello, sweetie pies.
43:46Oh, aren't you beautiful?
43:48Oh, you are lovely.
43:50And in comes number three.
43:51There you are.
43:52There you go.
43:53Three little pigs.
43:54Yeah.
43:56How important was it for you to be choosing native breeds?
43:59Extremely important.
44:00So they're one of the most ancient breeds of pigs
44:02that we have here,
44:03and because of that,
44:04they've got a lot of those naturalistic behaviours.
44:06They really are quite similar to wild boar,
44:08but these guys have that thick coat.
44:10Are there any kind of key wildlife species
44:13that you're hoping to target with all this work?
44:15Yeah, there's a few real key kind of flagship species, as it were.
44:18So we've got the marsh fritillary butterfly,
44:20which is a particularly rare butterfly in the UK now.
44:23I think we lost about 87 or so percent since the 70s.
44:26And those butterflies are already here.
44:28It's not like you're trying to attract them.
44:29No, so we're trying to extend their range that they have here.
44:34It's hoped the pigs' natural behaviour will encourage the habitat
44:38the marsh fritillary butterfly flourish in.
44:41So this is a fine example of their work then.
44:44So this is their rootling.
44:45So they use that spade-shaped nose.
44:47But as you can see, this reveals a perfect seedbed
44:50for a lot of germinating plants.
44:52Providing opportunities for rare species
44:56to attract insects and wildlife to this landscape.
44:59You can see by the evidence on their faces what they've been up to, can't they?
45:03Yeah, exactly.
45:04It's like the classic chocolate in the bowl, isn't it?
45:07Yeah.
45:08Nothing to do with me.
45:09Nothing to do with me, yeah.
45:10I can't prove nothing.
45:14Hello.
45:15Just talking about you.
45:17And what you've been busy with.
45:19We'll leave you lot to it.
45:21Have fun rootling.
45:26Another breed making its mark on the farmland here
45:29is the herd of English Longhorn cattle.
45:32Oh yeah, they're so suited, aren't they,
45:34when you look at the colours against the hedgerows.
45:35They are.
45:36They've got that kind of ancient look as well.
45:38They do just fit into the landscape.
45:40And they do different jobs at different times of the year.
45:42Yeah, well this is key.
45:43I mean, you can see what they're doing even just walking around.
45:45Yeah, so a bit of poaching.
45:46So that's a kind of hooving action.
45:48Too much?
45:49Bad thing.
45:50Compacts the ground.
45:51Not so good.
45:52But a little bit of compaction can actually be quite good for invertebrates
45:54because it makes quite a hard, dry area where butterflies can bask.
45:58You get solitary bees going into it.
46:01All those kind of different behaviours.
46:03Enticing new wildlife by welcoming back old species is key to the Trust's rewilding plan.
46:12We really want to do a wild release of beavers here.
46:15Right.
46:16They are ecosystem engineers is what they always get called.
46:19They're natural behaviours to help support other creatures.
46:22And are there any particular species that you're hoping they will bring in?
46:25So we have a population of willowtis here, which is our rarest resident bird in the UK.
46:31And so we're hoping that the beaver activity will help rejuvenate some of that wet woodland that they like.
46:37Allow that dense thick areas that they enjoy and that's what they need to establish themselves.
46:41They'll create wetlands throughout the landscape, pools, and those leaky dams are not only benefit to biodiversity,
46:48they also can prevent drought.
46:50So we're hoping it will have a real positive impact on the willowtis here.
46:54This may just be the start for Creeny Farms rewilding project, but it's clear that with the essential help of native breeds turning this landscape into a more natural state,
47:13some of the UK's rarest wildlife will have a home for the future.
47:17Shortly after filming, there was a surprise for the team.
47:27A pair of wild beavers were recorded on the Hellman Tor Nature Reserve.
47:33And earlier this year, the first wild beaver kit was spotted.
47:38For the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, it's a hopeful sign for the future of this species.
47:45The weather today has been a bit rainy and windy, but it's not going to spoil my spirits after the incredible morning I had.
48:01But if you want to know what's in store for the week ahead, here's the Countryfile weather forecast.
48:06Good evening. Well, I'm sure you're now aware that on Friday, Storm Claudia brought a month's worth of rain to parts of England and Wales.
48:22But the weather story for the week ahead is changing significantly.
48:26It's going to be much, much colder. And yes, we are likely to see widespread frost with the chance of some snow for parts of England and Wales.
48:34A cold northerly wind pushing its way steadily southwards during the day on Monday.
48:39A noticeable difference to the feel of our weather.
48:42And first thing in the morning, a widespread frost in sheltered rural parts of Scotland, low single digits elsewhere.
48:48Maybe a little more cloud and a few scattered showers out to the east, so not quite as cold.
48:53But it will be a cold start quite widely, but a lovely dry and sunny one for most of us.
48:59Lovely spells of sunshine coming through. A little more cloud perhaps along west coast of Scotland and down through the North Channel.
49:05And temperatures will recover into the afternoon, but they'll be below par, particularly in comparison to what we've seen over the last few weeks.
49:12Six to nine degrees.
49:14Tuesday gets a little bit tricky as well with this frontal system bumping into that cold air.
49:19And that means, yes, we are going to see some snow, mostly to higher ground in Scotland.
49:24But there will be some snow at lower levels and a wintry mix of rain, sleet and snow across Northern Ireland, the north of England.
49:31Further south, certainly more cloud around, but really predominantly showers of rain.
49:36Top temperatures through Tuesday, six to eight degrees.
49:40Now that frontal system will sink its way steadily south and we're going to have to keep an eye on that.
49:45There could be some snow showers through the night as that clears, the winds strengthen, cold Arctic air kicks in.
49:52That'll drive in a rush of showers along the coast of Scotland, North East England and maybe parts of Northern Ireland.
49:59And some just running down through the Irish Sea.
50:02But in the middle, dry, settled, sunny, but very cold indeed in comparison to what we've been used to this month.
50:09With gusts of winds in excess of 15 to 25 miles an hour at times, that really is going to take the edge off the feel of the weather.
50:17Your thermometer might suggest five, six, seven degrees, but it's going to feel more like low single figures if you're going to be out and about.
50:24So a few extra layers certainly at the ready on Wednesday.
50:28Moving out of Wednesday into Thursday.
50:30Again, we still run the risk of a wintry mix of showers, high pressure sitting out to the west.
50:35But all the time, this weather front is desperately trying to push in a change as we head to the weekend.
50:40But on Thursday, a few scattered showers, particularly through eastern areas.
50:44And again, rain, sleet and snow in the mix.
50:46There will be some sunshine around.
50:48The wind's a little lighter on Thursday, so it might feel more pleasant.
50:52And top temperatures, though, not suggesting much difference.
50:55Five to seven degrees.
50:57Now, as we move out of Thursday into Friday, we're going to start to see the first signs of a change.
51:03The wind direction swinging around to a westerly, pushing in areas of low pressure from the Atlantic.
51:08So that means that there will be some rain, perhaps for a time, a brief transient area of snow.
51:14But it will turn readily back to rain.
51:16The wind's strengthening in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
51:18Generally more cloud with the best of the sunshine on Friday into the southeast.
51:22Not that much in the way of change to the feel of the weather quite just yet.
51:27But as we move through to the weekend, it looks likely to turn milder.
51:31But that comes at a price.
51:33Yes, we are likely to see some wetter weather.
51:36And again, a lot of low grey cloud to look out for.
51:39Whatever you're doing, wrap up warm this week.
51:42I'm with the team dedicated to the reintroduction of the Scottish Wildcat.
52:02From their crucial work to breeding the next generation.
52:06In the breeding enclosures, we have one litter at the moment, which is great.
52:09So we're again producing more kittens for the future.
52:13To playing an essential role in their freedom.
52:22Morangi, the male wildcat, has definitely moved on and is now exploring his new territory.
52:29But the work of the Saving Wildcats team is far from over.
52:34I'm joining Conservation Project Officer Alex Skurra-Price.
52:38To try and track down Morangi and his female companions Stovey and Moth.
52:46Where are we at the moment?
52:47We're in a part of the Cairngorm Zone by Forestry and Lands Scotland.
52:50And the hope of that is that we can start to track some of the cats that have recently been released.
52:55As of this morning, we knew that one had definitely left the pen.
52:59The two more could have left.
53:00Okay.
53:01Hopefully we'll know soon enough once we start getting the tracking kit out.
53:08The first step in finding our trio is to track the signals from their GPS radio colours.
53:13Which updates their location every 15 minutes using triangulation.
53:22Oh!
53:23Can you hear that?
53:24Is that a beep?
53:25That was a beep, yeah.
53:26It's quite faint.
53:28In an ideal world, we would have high points everywhere so that you would be scanning across a 360 degree plane.
53:35Yes.
53:36Moving the antenna as you go and then you'll stop once you hear a ping.
53:40Right.
53:41And then you'll use the receiver to narrow down where they are.
53:45So you could end up with a 180 degree plane initially and then you narrow it down.
53:50This is another way of being able to monitor the cats without disturbing them.
53:55Exactly.
53:56It's one of the many things that we need to do to try and monitor them.
54:00It's one of the most important ones.
54:02Gives us an idea of where they are, what they've been doing, what kind of habitat they're using.
54:06It can help us indicate whether they're feeding as well.
54:09If you see clusters, we can go and investigate those clusters.
54:12We've found them clustering on brownhares carcasses, roe deer carcasses.
54:17So it can be really helpful, this technology.
54:25To try and home in on the signal further, we need to get higher.
54:29We've just climbed up the hill and you made a stop because you picked up something.
54:35Yeah, so it sounds like we're picking up Moranji.
54:38The ping is very faint.
54:40It keeps cutting in and out.
54:42Might just need to adjust the antenna a little bit.
54:44What that suggests is he's probably still quite far away.
54:47We have to get to within a certain distance before we can download his data or get really good line of sight.
54:52And when you say download, what do you mean?
54:55So we'll download that data, upload it onto a software called Movebank and then download his data onto Google Earth.
55:01Those points on the map will tell us where he's been and when.
55:04Right.
55:05So we'll know what habitat he's been using and how long he's been moving for.
55:09Fantastic.
55:10The team come out every week to try and track the released wildcats.
55:17Would we be able to pick up if the other two females manage to move off or not?
55:23Yeah, so we can input one of the females frequency now.
55:28I love how you can just do that.
55:31Comes with practice.
55:33So we're not picking up on her at the moment.
55:37Okay.
55:38The benefit of this technology is we could be looking for Moranji, for example.
55:41Yes.
55:42And as I'm scanning, if Sovi or Moth are in the area and they're closer, then this will still download their data.
55:48Okay.
55:49Without us having to actively look for them.
55:50All right.
55:51Which is really helpful when you've got multiple cats.
55:53When Moranji left this morning, how far would he go?
55:57Will he have to establish his own territory?
56:00He'll almost certainly have to go out and establish his own territory.
56:03Whether that's going to be here, whether it could be tens of kilometres away from this site, we won't know yet.
56:08Okay.
56:09And knowing what we know from the previous releases, that could take over a year for them to find a location where it's got enough food for them,
56:18enough shelter for them to start establishing their own territory.
56:20And how big would the area be, their home range?
56:23Females can be quite small, two square kilometres.
56:25Okay.
56:26We've got a male called Randall, who was released in the first year.
56:29He's got territory, 40 square kilometres.
56:32With the wind picking up, the cats might decide we want to hunker down a little bit now anyway.
56:37Yeah.
56:38So it becomes a little bit more challenging.
56:39Of course they would, because they know I'm here and I want to spot them.
56:42Exactly.
56:47Well, we may not have been able to track them, but today has already been more than I'd hoped for.
56:53Then came even better news.
56:58Just two hours after Merenji left, we heard that Stovie and Moth had also taken their first steps into their new wild home.
57:08Good luck, guys.
57:11I've been lucky enough to witness some incredible wildlife over the years, but seeing those wild cats this morning was something special.
57:24I don't think I'm going to forget that moment at all.
57:39Next week on Countryfile.
57:42Here you go, and then pop it in.
57:44In you go.
57:45One down.
57:46One down, a few more to go.
57:481,999 to go.
57:50Let's do it.
57:51It's nice and clear.
57:52Here we go.
57:53Just put this tape alongside here to try and guide them across.
57:57Come on, girls.
58:01So that's the Chettis, but I think I did hear a ping.
58:05Very, very quiet.
58:07OK, come on.
58:08We'll give it a bit more time.
58:13See you next time.
58:14Bye-bye.
58:20Every picture's worth a thousand words and thousands of pounds.
58:22Watch Alan Carr's Pitcher Slam, the new series on iPlayer.
58:27This and everything across the BBC is made possible because we're funded by you.
58:33Next can Storm rescue her pup from those lions.
58:36It's Kingdom.
58:37Thanks.
58:38You're welcome.
58:39Let's get back.
58:40We're going to bye-bye.
58:41Just end up with you in life.
58:43All of us are on our way home.
58:45Awesome.
58:46We know the next season.
58:47It's Kingdom.
58:48It's Kingdom.
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