When a raging bull climbed a Scottish mountain

  • Published
Bull on Five Sisters of Kintail RidgeImage source, David Whalley
Image caption,

The bull was thought to have been frightened by a car

Photographs of one of Scotland's most bizarre mountain rescues have emerged.

A bull climbed to the 1,027m (3,369ft) summit of Sgùrr na Ciste Duibhe, a mountain on the Five Sisters of Kintail Ridge.

Former mountain rescuer David Whalley was involved in the incident in the Highlands' more than 40 years ago.

He found his pictures of the call-out while researching a book he is writing on Scottish mountain rescues and has sought more details on the incident.

Mr Whalley, who is well-known in the Scottish climbing community by his nickname Heavy, was a young member of Moray's RAF Kinloss Mountain Rescue Team at the time.

He said: "I was just a boy at the time, but I remember the police called up the team to say there was a bull on the ridge. We thought it was a joke.

Image source, David Whalley
Image caption,

Mountain rescuers managed to get the animal back down into the glen below

"The bull was thought to have been frightened by a car on the road in the glen below. The bull managed to get all the way up on to the ridge.

"It wasn't very happy and it was stopping walkers from traversing the ridge. The walkers had to make a detour to avoid it."

Mr Whalley and his fellow mountain rescuers safely guided the bull down from the ridge.

Memories from others involved in the call-out in the 1970s have been sought by Mr Whalley, external because the RAF did not log mountain rescues involving animals.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

The Five Sisters of Kintail