Bringing back the good times for Nature - rewilding plan confirmed for extensive estate in Cairngorms

Could the capercaillie be restored to the Dalnacardoch Estate which lies between   Blair Atholl and Dalwhinnie?

AN estate that has long been managed for game shooting is to undergo 'rewilding'.

The Jersey-based Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust confirmed today that it had taken out a 100-year lease on the 18,500-acre Dalnacardoch Estate in the Cairngorms National Park, Scotland, with a view to "restoring the habitats and ecological processes" of a bygone era.

One of the species that it particularly wants to bring back is the capercaillie which has been declining so rapidly that it faces extinction in Scotland.

Says the Trust: "Our approach will combine hands-on species management with habitat restoration whilst also working alongside local communities and training conservationists.

"We will leverage our extensive international species reintroduction and land management experience to rebuild an intact piece of Scottish uplands where people can reconnect with our native biodiversity and immerse themselves in the land as it should be - a home for people and wildlife."