The Highland Cow and the Horse of the Woods How Highland Cattle Can Help the Capercaillie

About this book

Appalled by the catastrophic decline of the capercaillie – once a common and widespread bird in Scotland – Roy Dennis has come up with solutions. The numbers of capers in Scotland's pine forests have tumbled from 20,000 in the 1960s to about 400 today. The bird is facing extinction and without major conservation recovery could die out again, as it did in the early 19th century.

Roy Dennis has known the caper since 1960 and writes about how to save this beautiful 'great turkey-like bird'. The story – illustrated throughout by magnificent colour photographs – concerns its old pine forest habitat and how the capercaillie's living space has become dysfunctional. The key to recovery is to mimic the original ancient ox, the great aurochs, which had a profound beneficial impact on the ecology of the woodlands. It was eliminated by humans millennia ago, but its place was taken by Neolithic cattle arriving here after a long migration from the Middle East, where they had been domesticated from local aurochs 10,000 years ago. It was a major step in human evolution.

Those early cattle morphed into the Highland cow, which is the closest relative of its ancient ancestor. These cattle, herded by the people living in Scotland, were part of the woodland scene right through until the middle of the last century. Roy explains why they are the key to recovery – the cattle would restore the ecosystem, creating path networks, increasing biodiversity and invertebrate populations to the benefit of capercaillies but also for the whole of wild nature.

The life of the capercaillie is dealt with in detail, as is the history and present situation of Highland cattle – the most recognisable cow in the world and a favourite with everyone. The contrast with commercial cattle is explained, as is how to get the maximum benefit for the capercaillie, including greatly increasing the Scots pine woodlands.

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Biography

Roy Dennis, OBE, DSc (hon) is one of the world's foremost conservationists, best known for his work on the restoration of species such as the osprey, white-tailed sea eagle and red kite, but who has spent a lifetime restoring natural lands and biodiversity.