I know there are puma (California mountain lion) in the hills that I hike in, but I have never seen one. I have seen scat, I have seen the remains of kills, I have even see tracks, which is a pretty big thrill, but the cat remains invisible.

Only twice in my life have I ever seen our native bobcat, once in Yosemite Valley of all the unlikely places, and once on a remote trail, across a low field near Tomales Bay, north of San Francisco. Seeing those cats remain a thrill that I remember, years, even decades later.

Here's our native bobcat.



I think your Scottish wildcat is absolutely magnificent, and I hope, oh I hope that there is serious willpower in Scotland to save the animal and the territory it needs to survive....and keep feral domestic cats OUT of the area. Not so easy.