The Highland Cow and the Horse of the Woods

A beautifully illustrated book, written by one of our foremost conservationistsThe plight of the rare capercaillie and how to stop it becoming extinctHow the Scots pine forest has become dysfunctional for biodiversityWhy the Highland cow, the closest ancestor of the extinct aurochs, holds the key to restoring the capercaillie and biodiversity, while demonstrating the way to restore our natural world

Appalledby the catastrophic decline of the capercaillie - once a common and widespreadbird in Scotland - Roy Dennis has come up with solutions. The numbers of capersin Scotland's pine forests have tumbled from 20,000 in the 1960s to about 400today. The bird is facing extinction and without major conservation recoverycould die out again, as it did in the late 18th century.

Roy Dennis has known the capersince 1960 and writes about how to save this beautiful 'great turkey-likebird'. The story - illustrated throughout by magnificent colour photographs -concerns its old pine forest habitat and how the capercaillie's living spacehas become dysfunctional. The key to recovery is to mimic the original ancientox, the great aurochs, which had a profound beneficial impact on the ecology ofthe woodlands. It was eliminated by humans millennia ago, but its place wastaken by Neolithic cattle arriving here after a long migration from the MiddleEast, where they had been domesticated from local aurochs 10,000 years ago. Itwas a major step in human evolution.

Those early cattle morphed intothe Highland cow, which is the closest relative of its ancient ancestor. Thesecattle, herded by the people living in Scotland, were part of the woodlandscene right through until the middle of the last century. Roy explains why theyare the key to recovery - the cattle would restore the ecosystem, creating pathnetworks, increasing biodiversity and invertebrate populations to the benefitof capercaillies but also for the whole of wild nature.

The life of the capercaillie isdealt with in detail, as is the history and present situation of Highlandcattle - the most recognisable cow in the world and a favourite with everyone.The contrast with commercial cattle is explained, as is how to get the maximumbenefit for the capercaillie, including greatly increasing the Scots pinewoodlands. This is a book by an expert, written for everyone.