Charity Launches £3.6M Plan to Rewild Scottish Highlands with Lynx, Squirrels, and Aurochs

In a major rewilding effort, a Scottish charity called Trees for Life is launching a £3.6 million initiative to reintroduce four key species to the Highlands. Following the release of beavers into a Highland glen last month, the charity now plans to also bring back lynx, red squirrels, and a breed of cattle similar to the ancient aurochs.

The charity says this ambitious project will help improve the local environment and benefit communities through increased nature tourism. By "bringing back the forest-planting red squirrel; flood-preventing beaver; deer-managing lynx; and landscape-shaping aurochs through their modern-day descendant, the tauros," Trees for Life aims to "restore nature at scale and breathe new life into the Highlands."

The charity believes the Highlands can sustain a breeding population of around 250 lynx, and they are seeking to raise the necessary funds to kickstart this wide-ranging rewilding initiative. Experts believe the reintroduction of these "architects of the wild" will boost biodiversity, aid climate action, and provide new opportunities for people to discover the wonders of a wilder Scottish landscape.