An ancient land rich in myth and legend. But one of its most emblematic figures is seldom seen but has a reputation as a ferocious hunter and fearless protector of its brood. Known to charge humans without warning, this is not a beast you want to encounter. This is the Highland tiger.
The Highland tiger, or Scottish Wildcat, is the rarest cat in the world, with a total pure wildlife population of about 50. Which probably explains why they are so famous for looking constantly pissed. These cats are the original grumpy cats.
The Scottish Wildcats are the last surviving felids in the British Isles. Thousands of years ago, sabretooth cats and cave lions roamed these lands but went extinct at the end of the last glacial period.
The Eurasian lynx went extinct during the Roman-Britain era due to over-hunting for fur. And then there was one. The Scottish Wildcat survived, but it kept being persecuted as it was thought to attack livestock. Their range kept shrinking and by the mid-1800s, they could only be found in the remote and sparsely populated Highlands.
So how did this cat outlive its powerful cousins?
By being really good at hiding from humans, and adapting to eat anything in their environment. Like other European wildcats, Highland tigers are stockier and about 50% larger than a domestic cat. They're very quiet and can easily hide in burrows and under vegetation. They usually have a tabby pattern coat, which helps them camouflage in tall grass. Their coats blend in with the vegetation in their prey's eyes. Even us, with trigonal vision, have a hard time spotting them in the wild. This is particularly helpful for their kittens, which are born defenseless. They can breed up to twice a year. They usually mate in the winter, with babies born in early spring, and sometimes moms can get pregnant again, with new babies born in the summer.
By three months of age, they're fully weaned, and they become independent soon after. But until then, mom is there to protect them furiously. If you see a Highland tiger in the wild, it most likely wants you to see him. They don't really attack without a reason. But if they feel threatened or cornered, they will hiss, stomp, and make themselves appear larger. If this fails, they launch themselves at the threat. This is relatively common for cats.
But in some cases, their aggressiveness can border on the legendary. There was a mythical black cat in the Highlands, called the Kellas cat. But, of course, after decades of sketchy reports, it was proven to be...true? The Kellas was known to be an aggressive beast that killed sheep, attacked civilians, and could swim in rivers and lochs to catch fish.
In the 1980s, the first Kellas cat was captured. Since then, several other specimens have been observed, including kittens. DNA tests showed that some are melanistic Scottish Wildcats, but most are hybrids of domestic cats. Melanistic Scottish Wildcats eat the same as their tabby cousins, small mammals. Their diet is determined by their geography. Like most carnivores, Scottish Wildcats are opportunists.
In the eastern part of their range, their main prey are rabbits. In the west, there aren't as many rabbits so small rodents make the bulk of their meals. Smaller animals are dispatched with a bite to the back of their neck. Being cats, they will catch other animals given the chance.