Four rare animal species are being reintroduced to Scotland

A charity in Scotland is embarking on an ambitious project to bring four entire species back to the Highlands. Trees for Life is dedicated to ‘rewilding the Scottish Highlands’, which includes everything from gaining extra protections for forests, to the ‘Missing Species Appeal’ – a campaign advocating for the return of ‘Scotland’s lost keystone animals’ to their rightful homes.

Lynx, beavers, red squirrels, and modern-day aurochs, a type of horned cattle that went extinct during the 17th century, are the animals that Trees for Life is fighting for. It says that they all once played a ‘vital role’ in maintaining the Highland ecosystem, and that ‘centuries of persecution and habitat destruction' caused numbers to diminish.

Beavers were hunted into near extinction centuries ago, but in 2009 the Scottish Wildlife Trust began to reintroduce them to the nation’s wetlands. Trees for Life says that the Highlands are ‘missing’ them and their dam-building skills.

Red squirrels can still be found across Scotland, but they are becoming increasingly rare, and are vacant from entire stretches of Highland scenery. Trees for Life has already begun reintroducing these little creatures to the landscape, but wants to do so at a much higher rate.

The charity reckons that it could help support ‘a breeding population of 250 lynx’. It notes that Scotland is one of the only places the cats are native to that they haven’t been reintroduced to.

The modern day aurochs, known as the tauros, are perhaps the most interesting animal being brought back. Tauros have been selectively back-bred by researchers in the Netherlands to be as genetically similar to their extinct cousins as possible, so they’re sort of franken-cows. Trees for Life said that tauros’ ‘role in ecological restoration would be scientifically studied’.

The charity needs to raise £3.6 million to fund its mission. It says that returning these animals – ‘architects of the wild – is essential to ‘restarting the natural engines of Scotland’s ecosystems, boosting biodiversity, climate action and local economies, and giving people the chance to discover the wonder of a wilder landscape.

‘The Highlands can become a beacon of hope in the fight against extinction and wildlife loss’.

You can donate to the cause on Trees for Life’s website here.

Have you seen the British UNESCO heritage site will become a National Trust attraction in 2026?

Plus: New ‘forest towns’ are being built between two major English cities