Every so often, Janis stooped with open Ziploc bag to collect another dried wolf scat for analysis. Wolves were far from our minds though; we were here to look at the impact of beavers in Slitere National Park in northern Latvia.

Following extinction in the latter part of the 19th century, a total of 16 beavers of Norwegian and Russian provenance were released in different parts of the country between 1927 and 1952. The population expanded slowly until the 1980s when it started to grow exponentially. Today there is one beaver family for every square kilometre of Latvian territory – in excess of 100,000 individuals.

Suddenly something crossed the track behind us. Fresh tracks showed a red deer had bounded across the path. Following its line perfectly, were the clear prints of a wolf. The forest was suddenly electrified.

Under Article 22 of the EC Habitats and Species Directive, 1992, EU member states are required to study the desirability of re-establishing native species that have become extinct. This includes an assessment of the level of public support.

The prospect, then, of having such an encounter in Scotland seems remote in the foreseeable future. Antipathy towards wolves is as deeply seated as our paradoxical affection for the dog.

Moreover, studies of public attitudes to large carnivores indicate that where wolves have been extinct for a time then start to re-colonise – such as in Norway – they are viewed with much more suspicion than in, for example, Latvia where they have always been present. And after more than 200 years of wolfless forests, people in Scotland have long

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