Five-year plan to try to pull capercaillie back from brink of extinction

Initiated by the Scottish Government, the plan, introduced in conjunction with NatureScot, involves a wide range of partners across the public, private and third sectors, and sets out a clear roadmap of actions in a bid to secure a brighter future for the species.

With only around 532 capercaillie remaining in the UK, NatureScot commissioned its Scientific Advisory Committee to investigate the critical situation. A number of key areas were highlighted in the committee’s report, including human disturbance, predation of young and fence removal, which, if tackled together, could improve capercaillie survival and breeding success.

All are addressed in the new plan.

Andy Ford, CNPA director of nature and climate change, said: “The Cairngorms National Park is home to 85% of the UK capercaillie population, so action in the national park is critical.

"Thanks to the Cairngorms Capercaillie Project more people than ever before are now actively helping the species alongside the longstanding efforts of land managers and organisations. Given the scale of the task ahead to boost capercaillie numbers in Scotland we remain realistic but optimistic that a huge collective effort will make a positive difference.”

Eileen Stuart, NatureScot’s deputy director of nature and climate change, added: "With such low numbers, the species is predicted to become extinct in the next 20 to 30 years unless more action is taken at scale and on all fronts.”

While there is no single solution to tackle the decline of capercaillie in Scotland, the Emergency Plan identifies clear priorities across a range of areas, underpinned by the continued commitment to woodland creation in the National Park. The plan will ensure that this includes creating new and improving existing native woodlands to create more habitat to alleviate some of the pressures from disturbance and joining up existing fragments.