Hello.
The Wild Canid (f 1976) and Wild cat (f 1980) Studies are working with the Extinct Fox and Wild Cat Museum to try to build up a more accurate history of foxes and wild cats in the UK. We are currently searching Wales and Northern England to hopefully find out more.
Up to extinction (circa 1860s) there were three variations of Old fox in the UK. The largest was the Mountain or Greyhound Fox while a shorter and sturdier type was known as the Hill or Mastiff fox. The much smaller fox living near human habitation was known as the Common or Cur fox.
We know, from historical records as well as hunting and wildlife journals that the Old foxes were wiped out by the 1860s and what we are trying to do is find old taxidermies of these foxes that are labelled as such and have the location and date killed -this helps establish a few things for us. We know that many taxidermies were on display in country homes and cottages and would like to hear from anyone who may own such specimens.
The wild cat lasted much longer in England and Wales than is usually believed and once again these looked a lot different from what people now see as the wild cat (the Scottish cat). Here we are looking to find owners of taxidermies of such cats, again with date and location killed to complete our knowledge of the species to educate future generations.
If anyone has such a taxidermy then they can send a photo of the specimen to the following email address: blacktowercg@hotmail.com
Thank You
Terry Hooper
Study Co-ordinator
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