Scotland's Tigers; Scottish wildcats DVD, Highlands wild cat

[beverage2008]

leave our beautiful wild cats alone!

[vxphsycoxv]

Scotland also used to have Grizzly Bears. but they go hunted. now there is none.:(

[windylicker1888]

these things would destroy a fox man

[squirrelfisherman]

quite a lot of wild cats up near me, some as big as a labrador, though i've never seen one personally my friends have. there is a panther that lives round my parts too, my neighbor jogs a lot and it's followed her on numerous occasion's and it was spotted quite recently, ross-shire journal.

[MrNativeDancer]

With Due respect! This is exactly the same cat as found all over Europe! Why has it bacame rare only on theses Isles? There is just as many if not more domestic cats in Europe too. If people stop killing them they will have enough of there own kind to breed rather then have to breed with domestic cats. People should learn to live with nature rather then destroy it! The talking over each other bit is anoyiing!

[cisco9x]

One of the most beautiful animals on God's Earth...even if he does look like my tabby

[wixterdude]

why the fuck did i donate £150

[MrSupremecy]

bring back wolfs to scotland :P

[simonwolfie2]

the BEEPing Torres Will not give a SHit :( ...... very sad

[DehydratedManatee]

All the Scottish Wildcat wants is...FRRRREEEEEDOOOOMMMM!!!

[MrBigdannyish]

i never knew these animals existed and i am prop scottish like

[knytv1]

protect these amazing animals.

[221ar]

hi just wondering if u would have more info on largger cats like pumas, as my dad spoted one in the glen afic area of scottish highlands, he described it as a 3-4 foot high by 4 lond with a big thick tail, and it slinked as it walked and it wasd jet black

aaron

[coffeefilms]

@221ar There are lots of sightings of "alien big cats" in Scotland, often they turn out to be wildcats or hybrids but a puma was found once in the 70's, it was totally tame and had just been dumped by it's owner, try googling "alien big cats" or "big cats in britain" and you'll find a few groups and websites

[euyfdvfhj]

@221ar My grandad swears he saw one when walking alone...

[wixterdude]

@221ar not in england we did though in 1981 puma was nown exticnt in uk-but some say they see 1 every now and again we have lynx but now rare extremly endangerd in uk  nd thousands of years ago we actuly used to have lions buta different type of the ones you see in africa

now exticnt -the mid house cats very fierce exticnt about 1910 nevr reported seen after that

it just looks the same as a wild cat jsut much bigger

[wixterdude]

a sylvester- i dnt no if they r exticnt but realy fast(i think its exticnt) a black panther-exticnt in uk they arnt many but we have a few hounds too the european wolf- risk the fox- no risk a european hyena-exticnt thousands of years ago a black wolf(different to wolf)- high risk theres also brown bears(not grizzly)-risk british wolverine-endangerd they r alot but we would of had big cats years ago but i dnt no how ur dad found 1 exticnt years ago maybe a wild cat just huge

[Lorenzo2468]

I was interested in watching the entire vid, but the sound and editing sucked so much I stopped.

[cisco9x]

Utterly magnificent animal

[Toxie207]

Amazing ceatures. A friend of mine (who lives in the North-East suburbs of Glasgow claims to have spotted one! It was big and black. Does anyone know if this is possible?

[coffeefilms]

@Toxie207 it is, wildcats are rare that far south but do exist, and they can be all black although it's extremely rare, caused by "melanism", the same process that gives us all black leopards and jaguars.

[irena7777777]

@Toxie207 It is, I saw a big black cat near the borders.

[sw0rd0fadvers1ty]

So these wildcats aren't like domestic cats that became feral many generations ago?

[coffeefilms]

@sw0rd0fadvers1ty No, wildcats were here first, they've been in Scotland at least 2 million years whilst domestic cats only arrived with the Romans about 2000 years ago; domestic cats are descended from Asian/African wildcats which in turn are descended from European wildcats, so what you see in the video is sort of like the original blueprint!

[sw0rd0fadvers1ty]

@coffeefilms Oh, that's cool.  I'm sure the wildcats weren't the least bit pleased when the domesticated cats started moving in on their turf.

[kidri0t]

@coffeefilms how did they survive the ice age they must of arrived shortly after that and there also very simlar to the norweigen wild cat.

[coffeefilms]

@kidri0t They moved south during the ice age along with most other wildlife; the freezing of oceans dropped sea levels creating a landbridge to mainland Europe for everything to cross over. Earliest evidence of wildcat in UK (a fossil) is 2 million years BC so they managed this through a few ice ages!

[Keri74]

I can't wait to get this DVD, I am currently doing a research project on the Wildcats for college, such amazing animals and I can't believe that nothing has been done to really try and preserve them until recently.

[asdop]

i seen a wildcat in my garden and i dnt stay in the highlands !

[TheGranule]

Is it possible that these cats are the result of escaped cats from Roman times? Since they freely interbreed with domestic cats they are closely related. The other Felis sylvestris sp. are from the Mediterranean area, aren't they?

[coffeefilms]

@TheGranule

Fel. Syl. originates in Northern European woodlands and the Scottish cats are descendants of that bloodline; 12 million years of it! Middle Eastern wildcats (the ancestor of all domestic cats) evolved from European wildcats when they were forced to migrate south by ice age glaciation.

[xxxrandomjamezxxx]

hey lovely video.

could you check mine out?

if you likre my videos ypou should subscribelol

havc a niceday.

keep it up.

[hellenicNS]

does it bite?...(lol)

[notenglishandproud]

legend... if only you knew what i know about these animals.

youd soon feel like a right twat after your comment there. it just proves your knowledge of Scottish Wildcats is pathetically POOOOR!!

[conger17]

There just getting diluted buy breading with feral cats and domestic cats so its hard to find a true wild cat!

[legendzzzification]

Scotish Wild cats are Feral cats, thats all.

Feral cats do grow bigger and are very agressive compared to domestic cats..

The fact is Scotish wild cats don't exist, it has been proved scientifically!

[arrisfilms]

yeah yeah yeah....

[coffeefilms]

@legendzzzification

Having read most of the papers and knowing all the leading scientists personally I'd love to know what paper proves they don't exist.

[arrisfilms]

Aw so cute!

[peterpansloth]

So Thats What Angus Is Meant To Look Like!

[coffeefilms]

@peterpansloth If you mean Louise Rennison's Angus yes you're right, not like the poor excuse in the film!

[run2cat4run]

@coffeefilms

i own a cat who was half scottish. we called him tigger he was a big cat but so lovely n friend n he love ppl. sadly he died of old age 10. :(

tigger did pick on cats n foxes

[Keri74]

I can't believe there are idiots out there that think the wildcats are ferals...umm have you actually ever seen a real feral, they are just domestic cats that are SMALL! We had a bunch of them in my parents very large back yard that backed onto scrub...these were tiny, you could tame them if you got to them young enough..but they were domestics turned feral...Scottish Wildcats have distinctive markings and are LARGE...go learn to read about the differences before making an idiot of yourself!

[arrisfilms]

I have a big cat called tubby and he's huge and has markings almost the same is there a chance his mother could mate with wild cats

[steviezxr]

yep there is an estimated 3500 hybrids

[Keri74]

Yes they can, they will have similar markings, but not the same..there are distinct differences. Hybrids are one of the reasons thought to be why they are dying out..because there are many more moggies to breed with than fellow full blooded wild cats.

[notenglishandproud]

youre a myth you tit.

did you not read what coffeefilms have told all the doubters? your knowledge is pish in a pool.

[boselecta1]

You lot are affraid of the truth! Scotish wild cats are just domestic cats gone wild!

It might be good for the Scotish tourist board to have tigers living in the glens but the fact is its a total myth.

[steviezxr]

? the wildcat is the ancestor to domestic cats. domestic cats CAME FROM these u prick

[notenglishandproud]

stop waisting your time. your comments are clearly based on your amateur knowledge.

go learn the facts.... you do sound moronic.

[LeighPing]

Scottish wildcats are a complete myth! They are merely wild cats originating from feral strays & now live off the land in remote areas eating grouse & midges etc to survive. DNA tests have inconclusively proved this fact. To portray them as being part of Scottish heritage & folklore is about as real as Scotch mist!

[BACatticus]

Do you realise exactly how moronic your comment is? How can anything be proven inconclusively??

[LeighPing]

Think about it Einstein :).

[mikejandrews]

The word "inconclusive" means that it hasn't been proven. Studies may have been carried out but the results were neither one way or the other. Thus, they are INconclusive. By using the prefix "in-" you are negating your whole comment... Think about THAT Einstein.

[LeighPing]

Evolve, you got the point did'nt u? Let's not make a big deal & have much ado about nothing.. The fact remains the same. No amount of grammatical errors will change that. Typos are'nt a get out of jail clause. They're merely feral strays being cashed in on. I would'nt worry too much about that. But maybe u could negate that with some proof? I fail to see anything positive in that area.

[mikejandrews]

Well, being as you're the one arguing, shouldn't you be the one providing proof? What's more, I know the filmmaker and this is NOT a cash in. If they wanted a cash cow they would've made something a little more popular, don't you think? Perhaps a Beckham's documentary? What references on wildcats do you have? I'm very interested.

[LeighPing]

A Beckham documentary.. P'uhlease.

You're right of course. I should be providing proof. But, I'm off to Rome now to continue my search for the yeti. I'll be sure to keep my eye out for any other mythological creatures while I'm there.. ciao.

Seriously, I'm on a plane in a few hours. I'll get back to u on this moot point another time Highlander.

[mikejandrews]

Fair enough, but the Yeti is a myth, with little to no actual images relating to it. Whereas (though, I'm no wildlife enthusiast) the Scottish Wildcat actually does exist and there is footage to prove it does. While domestic cats do breed and have bred with wildcats, it does not mean that they themselves are mere descendants of domestic felines... Wildcats have existed for a very long time...

[coffeefilms]

Hi all... Wildcats have been in the UK over 2 million years, domestic cats evolved in Asia 120,000 years ago, they arrived here probably with the Romans a couple of thousand years ago. Wildcats appear in Scottish culture as far back as the Picts that first settled the country. Domestic cats are domesticated Asian wildcats. Gone-wild domestic cats are called ferals, there are numerous differences but the wildcat, having evolved in Scotland, is perfectly suited to the environment, ferals are not.

[coffeefilms]

typo; 12,000 years ago for domestic cats.

[BACatticus]

Previous comment directed to LeighPing

[thousands1000]

What and live without english and welsh handouts...you wouldn't last long pal

[jmdm1957]

Please dont bring the Welsh into this argument,I for one have seen one of these cats in action in the wild and f me it was a sight and a Half.

[Ineededanaccount0]

what a cute kitty!

[jonesyovjarra]

i think its sad tht we are letting all our wild life down this makes me mad this is a wonderfull creature that will be truely missed wn its gone.

do we have 2 destroy everything on earth

[skeentv]

i watched this vid for the cats... but i cant help feeling proud to live in the highlands after this... and reminds me why i spend so much time in the woods and outdoors... ty for this upload

[moshady8008]

Here in Iowa, bobcats are increasing by leaps and bounds, and you NEVER hear about them interbreeding with feral cats, ever. I read that the largest Scottish Wildcats were killed a couple-three hundred years ago when the British gov't paid a bounty, and they paid exponentially more for the larger wildcats and decimated the gene pool.

[coffeefilms]

Roughly right, we tried to interview the British Natural History Museum about it but they declined! There are still big ones out there though, I've heard several stories of them taking on and thoroughly beating up German Shepherd dogs and badgers. The "cross breeding" is happening just because it's so hard for them to find another wildcat.

[philstew123]

@coffeefilms yes there are definately big ones out there! We saw a huge black one for weeks but that was about ten years ago now. The first time i saw it i never wanted to see it agian! We also have the odd wildcat, we kept one kitten about 18 years ago when the mother was killed on the road....didnt make the friendliest pet and knocked lumps out of a westie!

[boselecta1]

What extent will people go to make and sell a dvd?.

The fact is 'Scotish Wild cats' are domestic cats gone wild.

Its like the Yeti, people want to believe in large beasts running around the countryside and nothing I can say will change your minds.

In most countries around the globe they have domestic cats gone wild, and yes they do grow bigger and are more aggressive than your household cat.

Let that be the end of all debate.

Amen

[moshady8008]

You do not know what you are talking about- get educated on the matter and then you can post here again.

[millsy1987]

Wrong.

[thousands1000]

lol..ignorant

[beowulfsword08]

my dad thought he saw a long eared owl up a tree turned out it was a wildcat and it weren't a happy mog!

[Thedeepesttruth]

What is a mog or moggy? Im from the US and do not know that phrase. Obviously something to do with cats. Also as an aside, I think the scottish wildcat is cute. I want one. I like my pets to be wild and untamed. I own an english pitt bull, and a feral Mystic Calico that has accepted me as its family.

[beowulfsword08]

Mog and moggy a colloquialism in the UK for a cat.

[Thedeepesttruth]

So its like slang. Hmm, very interesting. I wonder where those terms come from. If its sort for something else or like old english or some other culture.

[abermin]

More captive breeding + releasing them in the wild might help?

We should also grow more trees to provide a better habitat for them to flourish.

[notenglishandproud]

why cant people realise that these animals are WILD??! "well it looks like a tabby" aye it does....but its the tabbys that look like them! you wont find your neighbours overfed, friendly pussy cat under the same category as these cats. everything coffeefilms have said is bang on. full stop. if you still have trouble with stubborn-ness then go google and learn the facts please.

[sebbbo77]

I blame the fucking English.

And those filthy Cambells. Dirty traitorous scum.

[Rickko8]

Haha, agreed agreed!

Now lets drink up!

[sebbbo77]

Looks like a domestic tabby to me.

[coffeefilms]

Hey sebbo. Wildcats are where domestic tabbies come from! These guys are about 50-100% bigger, much stronger, and if you look out for the thick banded tail you can see it's nothing like a slender domestic tail!

[notenglishandproud]

what a great statement. good on you

[barbos111]

" They'll fight to death for their freedom"..

What a great beautiful creature!

[notenglishandproud]

Thats a cool story i'd definately get it checked out dude.

[AndyRew117]

Hey, im andrew, 14, when i lived over in scotland (castled douglas) i had a domestic cat. I am absolutely sure that it bred with a scottish wildcat, although she died of feline aids. Her 7 kittens survived until they were 4 weeks old, 2 remained ( clear of aids) And i have him now. He is almost identical to the scottish wildcat apart from the white chin. He is very big, has a huge fuzzy tail and is very muscular. He catches phesants and has even killed anoter domestic cat! Reply please. Thanks..

[coffeefilms]

Hi Andy; you should send a photo to the Scottish Wildcat Association (you can find them if you search Google) and they can tell you if he has got any wildcat genes!

[boselecta1]

I have seen the video now and I conclude that the scotish wild cat, despite what those so called experts want us to believe is just a tabby cat gone wild. It is clearly just a domestic pussy cat. Its amazing the lenghts people will go to have 5 min of fame, producing rubbish like this.

That is the end of the debate. Amen.

[jonburt27]

The romans brought over the domestic pussy cats but the scottish wild cats have been here long before that and that is a fact so dont speak about stuff on which you dont know about

[coffeefilms]

Jon's right, wildcats have been in the UK since at least 2 million years ago. Domestic cats evolved about 130,000 years ago and arrived here with the Romans. Domestic cats evolved from wildcats, that's why they look so similar.

[coffeefilms]

And if anyone does want to check out the experts interviewed the guy with a beard and books behind him is Prof David Macdonald at Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, the clean shaven guy in a museum is Dr Andrew Kitchener, head of mammals at the National Museums of Scotland.

[kuntsavage]

cool cat i hope it doesnt go extinct.

[AAAPatriot]

What is going on with the DVD ? How come no updates?

[railfan72]

Magnificent beautiful creatures!

[sedonajeeptours]

i find the subject matter interesting and would like to see the film.. i did find it distracting that you had your interview subjects speaking over each other.

[USBetrayl]

yes, it the speaking over each other, was strange..

[Achatina12]

mr boselecta

The european wild cat is a true wild cat...

Feral cats are diferent in almost everything, being only apparently similar in appearance, however true wild cats are more sturdy, big and agressive! Also their genetics differ and also their skeleton.

[notenglishandproud]

boselecta1.... do some research instead of making a fool of yourself with comments like that on the internet. CoffeeFilms have produced this film explaining the FACTS about these wildcats, yes WILD cats. Scotland has got feral cats aswell. if you wish to prove that you are right lets see it! we'd all love to! on the other hand if you wish to be proven wrong, buy the DVD. asshole

[boselecta1]

you are wrong "coffeefilms" Scotish wild cats are just domestic cats gone wild. In Australia they have loads of wild (feral)cats, they grow alot bigger than domestic cats and are very aggressive.

[DJnaturalselecta]

wrong

[gabbylou0]

Scottish wild cats are not just domestic cats gone feral.

[beowulfsword08]

Wrong boselecta and I should know I live in the Highlands!

[coffeefilms]

They get so big in Aus. because it lacks a natural feline predator, the ferals are evolving to take advantage of all the stuff that has no defence against one, if humans all left Aus. right now and went back in 100,000 years you'd find a whole new big cat had evolved, I agree. Scottish wildcats were here when the first people arrived after the ice age, fossils tell us they were here at least 2 million years before that, domestic cats turned up just a few thousand years ago in Scotland.

[dkzero]

@boselecta1 coffeefilms is actually right, except that domesticated cats came from Africa. European wildcats are completely different from domesticated house cats.

[technodazed]

Beautiful cat! Never knew they existed. Thanks for posting, and good luck to the species.

[gvman3670]

But aren't Scottish wildcats just long term ferals? They surely are not an indigenous species, are they? They look just like the stray tabby that gets into my garbage! LOL

[coffeefilms]

That's because wildcats are where your pet tabby comes from! True wildcats are 50-100% larger (there are skeletons 4 feet from nose to tail), much more heavily muscled, capable of hunting small deer or scrapping with Golden eagle and large dogs, they're very literally the little tigers of the Highlands!

[gvman3670]

OK. I was under the impression there ancestors were brought there from mainland Europe and were of the same stock as early domestic shorthairs. It would explain why they readily breed with domestics. In North America we have a few wildcats, but they don't breed with domestics.

[coffeefilms]

No, Britain has been attached to mainland Europe for a lot of pre-history, so go back a few million years and we had lion, lynx and bear here, and wildcats came over then too, the earliest UK remains found have been 2 million years old; they're older than people are! Domestic cats are a mixture of African and Asian wildcats, which both evolved from the European wildcat, so they're all really closely related and can interbreed; many cat species can but their offspring are usually infertile.

[gvman3670]

Thanks. Makes sense. You know, the English channel was dry just a couple hundred thousand years ago or less....at the height of the last ice age anyway. Perhaps as little as 10000 years ago. So it would have been very easy for animal migration actually.

[DiegoDCvids]

awesome trailer;)

[coffeefilms]

Thanks guys!

[MEOSHABEAN1]

NICE VIDEO LOOKS GREAT

M.V.B FILMS

[coffeefilms]

You always check our stuff! Much appreciated!

[MEOSHABEAN1]

no prob I love your films

Meosha :)

great video once again :)

[coffeefilms]

After a long wait, we're bringing this film out on DVD and cut this new trailer to better show what it was all about. The film was shot on a micro budget over the course of about a year, hope you enjoy it and check out the DVD!