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Scottish Wildcat Day
"Och, beware the Scottish Wildcat!
He fairly chills the soul!
Just give him room, don't pause to chat,
Such beasties lose control!"
~ Denis Martindale, 2014
If you catch a flash of these striking colors out of the corner of your eye, you might just have spotted the elusive "Highland Tiger"—or perhaps a fortunate soul wearing a kilt in this bold tartan! Unique to Britain and now surviving only in Scotland, the Scottish Wildcat is a critically endangered species. It may be a close cousin of the European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris) or a distinct subspecies (Felis silvestris grampia). Fewer than 100 are estimated to remain, roaming remote corners of the northern and northeastern Highlands, in places like Morven and the Ardnamurchan peninsula.
Sadly, pure wildcats may no longer exist, as most individuals are believed to carry at least 25% domestic cat DNA. Still, these fierce felines once roamed more widely—well known to Highland shepherds and immortalized by Sir Walter Scott in The Lady of the Lake as wild, untamable creatures. Their legacy lives on in myth, too: the Cat Sìth, a spectral feline of Scottish Gaelic lore, and the Kellas Cat, a mysterious beast reported in Moray, said to be as large as a dog and often bearing a white chest spot. Some believed they were witches in disguise!
Kin to the earlier Scottish Wildcat tartan, this corporate tartan was also designed to raise awareness of the work that Saving Wildcats (UK) and Saving Scottish Wildcats (USA) are doing to prevent the extinction of one of Scotland’s most iconic species. The threadcount includes numbers that reference significant dates - 1988, the year that wildcats became legally protected and 2020, the start of the Saving Wildcats project. The shades used represent the fur colours of the Wildcat and the charity’s brand colours of orange and dark green
“Touch not the cat bot a glove” — is a warning from Clan Chattan, whose emblem bears the wildcat's fearsome spirit. Today, conservation and rewilding efforts are underway, and proceeds from this tartan help support the preservation of their dwindling habitat. Meow, hiss, purr—long live the Highland Tiger! 🖤 🤎 🤍 🧡 🤎 💚 🐯 🐈 🐈 🐈 🏴
Often referred to as the Tiger of the Highlands, striking, handsome and powerful, it is the very essence of a wild predator living by stealth and strength.
The Scottish wildcat's range historically included England and Wales, but it became extinct in these areas, as well as in southern Scotland, within the last 150 years due to habitat encroachment and hunting. Today, the Scottish wildcat population is additionally threatened by hybridization with domestic cats. It is the only wild feline left on the island of Great Britain.
Far back in the history of Scotland, the earliest settlers told legends about wildcats so fierce they bested human champions, who worshipped them as forest spirits. Centuries later, clans formed together under the image of the wildcat and fought wars for the independence of the land.
This tartan was designed to raise awareness of the work that Saving Wildcats (UK) and Saving Scottish Wildcats (USA) are doing to prevent the extinction of one of Scotland’s most iconic species. The threadcount includes numbers that reference significant dates - 1988, the year that wildcats became legally protected and 2020, the start of the Saving Wildcats project. The shades used represent the colours of the Wildcat and the charity’s brand colours of orange and dark green.
For the feature film documentary, "The Tigers of Scotland" click the angry wildcat!