Calls to 'lek it be' to protect capercaillie

With numbers of this iconic bird declining to around 500, police and wildlife rangers have been conducting dawn patrols around lek sites

- David Tomlinson

When capercaillie first became extinct in Scotland in the late 1700s, their disappearance was blamed on destruction of the native pine forests and excess hunting. This iconic species — the biggest grouse in the world — was successfully reintroduced to Perthshire in the early 19th century, and by 1900 capers were widespread throughout the Highlands.