New home for endangered wolverines
Two adult wolverines have moved into a new enclosure at Highland Wildlife Park in Inverness-shire.
The pair have been settling in to their new home since they left Edinburgh Zoo last week, where they have spent most of their lives.
Xale is an eight-year-old male, born at Helsinki Zoo, and ten-year-old female Kirka was born at Norden's Ark in Sweden.
Both are part of the European Zoo Association's breeding programme for wolverines and are hoped to successfully breed at the wildlife park.
The enclosure has been custom-built for the pair. It covers a 1.6 acre of sloping land, which is packed with natural enrichment such as rocks, trees and shrubs.
"Given the size and complexity of their new enclosure, it is hoped that the only pair of wolverine in Scotland will find it to their liking and produce cubs early next year," said Douglas Richardson, head of living collections at the park.
He added that, for a "fairly tough" animal, wolverines are quite difficult to breed in captivity, therefore the park has gone to great lengths to ensure the new home meets all their requirements.
"Xale and Kirka are often seen jogging around their new enclosure, inspecting their territory, searching for food, climbing trees, paddling in their pool and digging into old rabbit holes," finished Mr Richardson.
The species is listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List for Europe, because wolverines are regularly hunted and trapped for preying on livestock.
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
