The hares will form part of a regeneration project

ScottishPower Renewables hopes to reintroduce a population of mountain hares at its Beinn an Tuirc windfarm site in Argyll and Bute.

It is offering estates a bounty of �30 for every hare they can provide.

The hares will form part of an on-going conservation and regeneration project, which is also home to a pair of golden eagles and a black grouse population.

David Macarthur, ecologist at ScottishPower Renewables, said: "The mountain hare has been extinct from that area for quite a few decades and it once formed part of the natural eco-system there.

"By reintroducing it we are enhancing the biodiversity of the area.

"We're going to specific estates in Scotland to try to source 30 mountain hares for us."

The hares will be reintroduced in a habitat management area which is away from the site, to encourage the eagles to forage away from the wind turbines.

The 46 turbine windfarm site covers 1,215 hectares and includes 450 hectares of conifer plantation and regenerated traditional heather moorland.