Pitter patter of tiny paws at Highland Wildlife Park

Summer is an amazing time to visit Highland Wildlife Park with the long, sunny days, native flora in full bloom and the pitter patter of tiny paws as many of our animals reach the end of their breeding season.

This year we are extremely happy to announce a particularly successful breeding season across the park with visitors able to see everything from our young elk twins to a litter of wildcat kittens!

In October 2022 we welcomed Arctic fox Jack to the park who has been getting on brilliantly with Sarah. So brilliantly in fact they have had their first litter of cubs, one male and four females. Arctic fox cubs are born with their darker summer coats which turn white in winter months.

Our Japanese macaques have welcomed three new babies to the troop: Oops, Osaka and Omashu. Japanese macaques are carried on their mother’s stomach for the first four weeks and are then carried on her back, sometimes for over a year.

Mishmi takin parents Jorge and Chimi have had a new calf, a female named Missandei. Mishmi takin are classified as Vulnerable to extinction on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species so every new calf born at the park is a special moment for our keepers. Young mishmi takin are easy to spot not only by their smaller size, but by the white band on their head where their horns will grow in later.

It has been a great year for our critically endangered Scottish wildcats with Talla giving birth to her first litter of four males and one female kitten. Talla is taking to motherhood brilliantly and is being very attentive. The kittens are doing extremely well and are getting more confident every day. It has been fantastic to see them growing curious about their surroundings and start exploring their home in Wildcat Wood with Talla by their side.  

Easier to spot than our Scottish wildcat kittens are our Eurasian elk twins, Wren and Goose. Our female elk, Ash, moved to the park in January 2022 so these are the first calves her and Raven have had together. It is great to see how well they have been getting on this past year and we are so happy they have been able to welcome two beautiful calves to the park.

Our European forest reindeer, Sven and Freya, have also successfully raised a female calf who after a public vote was named Kesä, meaning Summer in Finnish. Amazingly, reindeer calves are able to stand up within two hours of being born, a vital adaptation so that they can keep up with their fast-moving parents!

It is great to see such a wide variety of species bringing new life to the park this summer, with even more babies I haven’t mentioned here. If you want to see these young animals up close and learn about the vital conservation work our charity carries out throughout the year please do visit us at Highland Wildlife Park through the holidays.

Keith Gilchrist

Living Collections Operations Manager, Highland Wildlife Park