Clinging by a Claw – The London Premiere

On Tuesday 21st April 2026, join TENT and Saving Wildcats at the London Premiere of the new documentary, Clinging by a Claw. 

This event is an opportunity to celebrate progress towards a restored wildcat population in Scotland, while generating further support for the next critical phase of the nationwide recovery project.

The native Scottish wildcat is a crucial part of Scotland’s natural heritage. Present across the European continent, the species was once common in Britain, but through persecution, habitat loss, disease, and hybridisation with domestic cats, they were almost entirely wiped out.

Britain’s last remaining native cat and one of the few remaining predators, the species’ survival is vital to the health of Scotland’s ecosystems. Wildcats play a crucial role in regulating prey numbers, helping to diversify woodland and grassland habitats. However, in 2019, The International Union for the Conservation of Nature declared the species ‘functionally extinct’ in the wild – that meant there were too few wildcats for a healthy population to restore itself, even with the highest legal protections afforded. Without a strategic program to bolster the species’ genetic health and strategically release cats into the wild, the Scottish wildcat would have been lost forever.

Clinging by a Claw is a 60-minute documentary, narrated by Outlander star Sam Heughan, that chronicles the struggle and hopeful comeback of the Scottish wildcat. It delves into their perilous journey from the brink of extinction — highlighting unseen, intimate moments of wildcats in the rugged landscape of the Cairngorms National Park. The film explores conservation efforts led by Saving Wildcats, showing how coordinated action aims to reintroduce wildcats safely into the Highlands. With stunning Highland scenery as our backdrop, the documentary offers both a cautionary tale and an uplifting vision of what’s possible in the fight against extinction.

Saving Wildcats, led by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, is a nationwide effort to save the critically endangered Scottish Wildcat from extinction.

Through a conservation breeding for release approach, the partnership is releasing wildcats into carefully selected sites in Scotland, monitoring their behaviour, demography, ecology and population growth. 

Wildcats have been successfully released into the Cairngorms National Park this year in another important step towards saving the species in Scotland.

This is the third year in a row that wildcats have been released into the Highlands after being declared functionally extinct in Britain in 2019. This year, 18 animals were released by the Saving Wildcats partnership, bringing the total up to 46 wildcats released so far. In a huge step forward, some of the now wild-living females have successfully produced litters of kittens in the spring and summer of 2024 and 2025.

To continue this remarkable effort to restore wildcat populations across Scotland, Saving Wildcats needs critical support. Careful monitoring is needed to support the growth and health of the Cairngorms population, while evaluating suitability for further release sites.

Through ticket sales and an auction, 100% of the funds raised will be donated by TENT to Saving Wildcats for the next phase of the project.

Date: 21st April 2026

Location: Ladbroke Hall, London

Start: 17:30 for welcome drinks and reception

End: 20:15

Tickets: £75.00

100% is allocated to Saving Wildcats to support the next phase of the conservation programme. Includes welcome drink and snacks. 

Auction

An auction on the night will give you the chance to support the Scottish Wildcat with some inspirational ‘rewilding’ lots on offer. 

Food

Welcome drinks and snacks are provided by TENT and sponsors. Ladbroke Hall’s restaurant, Pollini, is tastefully led by award-winning Italian chef, Emanuele Pollini, offering a delightful seasonal Italian menu. 

Guests of TENT’s event enjoy a 20% discount on all food at the restaurant on the night of February 25th. For those attending the event, tables can be booked directly with the restaurant below.

Panel

After the screening, we’ll be joined by some incredible guest speakers who have devoted their lives to saving Scotland’s natural heritage. Enjoy the panel discussion and have your chance to put questions to our conservation speakers. 

Alastair Fotherghill – Director of Planet Earth and Silverback Films

Megan McCubbin – Naturalist and Presenter

Helen Senn – Head of Conservation and Science programmes at RZSS

Moderator – Chloe Dalton, Writer

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