BACK from EXTINCTION! These 5 animals are Back in Britain!
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- čas přidán 22. 05. 2024
- In the past, many animals have gone extinct in the UK. This video show five of them that have beat the odds and returned once more to the UK countryside.
#rewilding #extinct #nature
Some of the footage used in this video was obtained using creative commons licences, the originals and their licence details can be found at:
• White tailed Eagle - N...
• White-Tailed Eagle Cam...
• White-Tailed Eagles an...
• White Tailed Eagle Cam...
• White-Tailed Eagle Res...
• Yearling Beaver feedin...
• Scottish beaver swimmi...
• Adult Beaver Grooming ...
• Eating Beaver
• Perthshire Beaver kit ...
• Beavers at the Marchfe...
• Butor étoilé (Botaur...
• Eurasian Bittern Hunti...
• Bittern at Amwell Natu...
• Bittern on the ice 🔴
• Bittern
• Wild Boar in the Fores...
• Wild boar in the mud a...
• Wild boars eating and ...
• 2019 06 27 Eating an...
• 2 Wild Boars In A Forest
• Western capercaillie, ...
• Close-ups video of a c...
• Capercaillie ,Highland...
• It is snowing and the ...
• Fighting capercaillies...
• Wildlife Photography -...
• VinnieRothiemurchusCap...
• Meet the European Biso...
• European Bison at Stud...
• European Bison Herd
• Bison
• Bison 3
• Beaver (young and adul...
• Video
• Ήταυρος - Botaurus ste...
• Sus scrofa wild zwijn ...
The bittern and bison images for the thumbnail is creative commons, the originals are at: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
The problem with reintroducing large herbivores without natural predators is imbalance of the ecosystem, for example forestry in Scotland where the deer eat the young trees. The same occurred in the Yellowstone National Park until wolves were reintroduced.
Yes, I completely agree. This country doesn't have the space for proper large predators so it'll be interesting to see what happens if bison do become established.
The same goes for beavers I think, they have no natural predators, they destroy forests and prevent migration of fish. The same people who want to reforest the highlands of Scotland also want beavers. I've watched lots of stuff about the wolves in Yellowstone park, I love wolves and the benefits of their introduction in Yellowstone is amazing.
@@AShotOfWildlife It's a matter of priority not available space. The UK is ten times bigger than Rwanda and has half the population density's. But we have Lions, Crocodiles, Hyenas, Wild Dogs, Leopards and many more, in 5 National Parks across the country. The Lions were just reintroduced in the last decade.
Rwanda with area of 26,338 km²/population density of 445 people per km². The UK area 244,820 km²/population of 281 per km².
@@DavidFraser007 beavers have plenty of predators here. They are often fed upon by foxes and sometimes even eagles
Mark Barker
In areas where introducing efficient predators is not practical, the numbers of large herbivores can be managed through hunting. The money earned from hunting fees could be ploughed back into the natural reserves. Restaurants and markets could play a role by promoting the sale and consumption of game.
Great video. You from Norfolk ?
Some fascinating info there !! Just brilliant 🤩!! Did you film 🎥 the footage of the white tail eagle & the other animals on this post ! Great captures!👍 big thumbs up as always 👍
I wish I filmed it! No, this video is pretty much all creative commons footage mate. The links to the originals are in the description. Thanks mate, I hope you are all good.
Great video Liam, really enjoyed it. In fact we enjoy all of your videos. But what about the Scottish wild cat, anything about that. Thank you Liam keep them coming.
Thanks Bryan. I didn't include Scottish wild cats as they didn't go fully extinct yet... although I don't know how long I'll be able to say that for.
Really interesting, thanks Liam!
Thank you :)
Great video as always Liam. I think my opinion on what makes an animal native is the same as yours.
Cheers mate.
@@AShotOfWildlife Now that they are back in the UK, I want them to stay that way Permanently
New subscriber and love the content!! How come the Capercaillie population is such decline in the UK?!
Welcome to the channel. I think habitat destruction and ground predators are a big cause of their decline.
@@AShotOfWildlife yeah few years back before Covid hit I visited Scotland and when I got to Aviemore to photograph wildlife … that was one species that I could NOT find while in the Cairngorms! But the highlands provides plenty of other animals/birds to photograph l.. keep up the great work 👍🏻💥 cheers!
@@AShotOfWildlife Consecutive damp springs on broods. Could be a terminal decline unless new reintroduction.
You missed out Reendeer. Although they had become extinct at the end of the last Ice age here in England, others believe they managed to cling on to existence for much longer in Scotland....they have however been re-introduced to parts of Scotland and Northern England
I don't count reindeer as reintroduced though. They are domesticated and are even brought into sheds at some times of the year.
I remember seeing Reindeer in the 1970s on a school ski trip. They are indeed tame, my friend thought they were a herd of big goats.
I'm surprised the Red kite didn't make the list, ok it didn't go completely extinct but from what I remember it went down to a few pairs in wales, the reintroduction in South Oxfordshire where I live was a massive success, in my area they are one of the most seen birds probably because they are large and bold, I live in a town and it's not uncommon to have 6 or more hovering above the garden.
Hello. Red kites will be featuring in a future video, which eill look at species that Almost went extinct :)
We don't actually see them very often in Norfolk but their numbers are still increasing here.
We have loads of Red Kites where I am in West Hertfordshire, re-introduced a while ago. Love the sound they make.
Over the past 15 or so years we've had increasing numbers of Buzzard in Leicestershire and now we're seeing more and more Kites, which seem to be spreading from Lincolnshire and Rutland.
Perhaps because of these two species becoming more common, I rarely see kestrels anymore.
I've seen one in Nottinghamshire recently. In a small patch of woodland.
I'm interested in the conversation status of this bird as well, because I really like raptors. I heard that the Red Kite has been successfully reintroduced to Spain in numbers. I saw a video about it.
I think I could have talked my dad, who was a devoted angler, into accepting beavers by pointing out that they were making new fishing environments which would give him a bit of a challenge and make his fishing more interesting.
That's a good way of looking at it. I have spoken with a lot of anglers about this and although some aren't in favour, most can see the potential benefits. With so many complaints about reduced fish stocks in our waterways, most people seem willing to try anything.
Ooh I do like a nice bit of wet beaver action. Good footage! 👍
Good video my friend
Have a happy day
Thank you!
Very helpful. Thanks.
Great video mate :D
Thank you
@@AShotOfWildlife no problem 😄
Love your videos Liam. Many thanks.
Brilliant vid as always 👏
Thank you!
When I used to work for the Forestry Commission we would routinely go to the Forest of Dean and it's surrounding areas to watch Wild Boar be culled, if their breeding gets out of hand they can be devastating to the local woodland, peoples gardens and agriculture. People seem to forget the last time they were native here about a 1/4 of Britain in the 13th Century was covered forest, now it's down to about 13%.
Yes, I live there and you definitely see all the churning up the boars do which is fine if it’s just on forest path verges, but when it comes to them destroying allotments, football pitches etc., it’s really expensive for a very deprived area to deal with them. They are very hard to manage because they can practically eat anything, and are pretty good at breeding!
Yes, but if they had natural predators then culling wouldn't be necessary. It's not just the loss of habitat, without an apex predator all ecosystems are incapable of reaching balance.
That is why they need to be spread throughout other woodland in the middle ages they were also farmed for meat.
Interesting video, Liam! Why is it that the Barn owl is listed both as a native and non-native? Aside from the comments that have already been made about introducing and managing large herbivores in the UK, I think it's important to think about how these species would be looked after for decades to come; I'd hope there's a decent plan in place. Besides, I do question the resource allocation of the limited conservation funding that we have as it can sometimes favour charismatic species such as the bison, with perhaps the temptation to turn areas of re-introduction into attractions, all at the same time as other species' conservation efforts remain under funded or completely neglected 🤷
I agree with Liam that if it used to live naturally in these islands before human activity took a hand,then it can be classed as native.
The thing with bison is they are what is known as a keystone species, they create better habitat for other species of both plants and animals. So they are being reintroduced not just as a charismatic tourist attraction but because they are vital to our efforts to improve wild spaces and make them sustainable. Currently many projects are becoming unsustainable because they require significant human input to prevent one, or more, species from out competing everything else.
It is entirely possible that with a release of bison into an area with other endangered species that that is all that is needed to uplift the area, and thus obviate the need for more funding.
bison, good idea, brilliant vid thankyou
Cheers Clive. I wonder if they'll ever be free roaming etc. I look forward to it if they are.
Just so you know beavers don't eat fish,so happy anglers.And the habitats they create are fantastic for fish and wildlife.they also slow down rivers with there dams witch prevents flooding.There dams also catch carbons that's good for the planet.😊
Very good video
Thanks George!
Loving this informative series. Never knew of the White tail Eagle. It's ok introducing some one otherwise exstinct animals and birds, but the biggest threat comes from man. I fear for all the animals, especially beavers, and hope they are not persicuted. Bison, sounds great but, as so much land is being built upon and after spending, they'd probably be better in remote areas fenced in.thank you.
Yes,the shortage and therefore high cost of housing is forcing an urge towards building a lot more,which will potentially conflict with these laudable rewilding initiatives. I had a recent online disagreement with someone who thought we should carpet the entire south of England with suburbia!
Probably do well in the Highland and Hebrides. Compete for grass with sheep, but that's all they might do.
There is a population explosion of deer in Scotland and this is a major reason why so much of the landscape is barren of trees. The deer eat the saplings. Bringing back the wolf would bring back some balance and reduce deer numbers, which would also permit more trees to grow. People say the wolves would kill the sheep but there is a solution to that which is 100's if not 1000's of years old, shepherd dogs. They defend the flock very well indeed.
I used to live in Devon, and would often see, and hear BUZZARDS hovering.
They became extinct in the SOUTHERN COUNTIES due to the culling of rabbits.
However, since the practice of poisoning stopped, the buzzard has made a remarkable resurgence accross the Southern counties. They can be seen in numbers on the Sussex Downs, and their call (mewing) is unmistakable.
I've heard there are colonies in Kent also.
I see buzzards all the time here in Essex
There are plenty of breeding pair in my areanof somerset too! :D lovely bird, always been top of my list ^_&
Probably myxomatosis had the greatest effect on predator populations,which was of course a deliberately introduced man made disease.
Many buzzards in Suffolk also red kites
Loads of them in the East Midlands
I have spent this evening on my boat watching Beavers on a river in Kent. I have been out many times this year and I have seen them on every occasion. Tonight I saw 3 three Beavers and heard three splashdowns in the dark. This was a poor night. Normally see them in double figures.
Great 👍
Thank you!
Beavers on the Otter😅😂 I'm an angler & as far as I'm concerned reintroduction of beavers is a positive thing, how could it not be? They're meant to be here. I've seen em a few times now & the effect on the landscape up here in Scotland .
I enjoy your narration on vids you do Leon, please don’t stop. You are my escape to the outdoors.
Thank you. I have lots more to come!
Nice bro
Thanks!
The reintroduction of large predetors is also a must
I think it is hugely important to protect all species with dwindling numbers irrespective of whether they are native or not so this video gives me hope. I am keeping my fingers crossed that all of these will find success and thrive in the long term. Great work as always Liam.
very interesting
I know there was talk of reintroducing the eurasian lynx back into the UK, but has been fiercely rejected by farmers. Any further movement on this do you know Liam?
Some believe that we have "bigger" cats living wild. There does seem to be evidence of prey kills and even the odd corpse. It would be great to see a video on the likelihood.
I thought the Lynx has been reintroduced in parts of Scotland to control the deer numbers, and there was talk over reintroducing it in Englang too. Not sure of the latest developments though?
@@johnbrereton5229 I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they do if it hasn't already happened. Mind I'm kinda biased, I think all cats are the zenith of mammal evolution. Amazing stealthy super predators.
@@Buster_Piles
Yes indeed, as the unpaid servant of two cats that I try to believe I own, I would agree with that ! 😊
@@johnbrereton5229 your comment made me laugh out loud my friend. I knew straight away exactly what you meant. 😊 I'm also the servant of 3 of them. How clever of them to adopt humankind and manipulate us into treating them like the master of the house. 🤣
One of mine even treats me no better than dirt most of the time, he'll even sit glowering at me with the eyes of a Demon Dreaming and yet I'd go hungry before they would. They're cruel, they're vain, they care little for others. Perhaps our relationship with them is so close because they share many of our own worst qualities. But I can tell you I love my cats more than anything in the world. To look into the eyes of a lazing, contended cat is to gaze into the Heart of Darkness & the stupendous beauty of nature.
I wish you and your feline overlords/ladies well. 🤝🥰
The only time I have seen a white failed eagle was at Carlton Marshes. It was close to a pair of Marsh Barriers which gave a good comparison in size - the eagle is huge!
3:28 I have never seen a Bittern yawn before, and that is actually terrifying haha!
They do have massive mouths!
I agree with the underpinning sentiment of rewilding but Oostvaardersplassen has killed its feasibility without (ironically) heavy handed management. Which of course, its not supposed to require. Knepp is an example of where, in limited circumstances it can work, but then again it's the luxury project of an aristocratic family.
I'd much prefer money and time put into purchasing land from farms and estates to create wildlife corridors, protecting ancient woodland, encouraging farmers to adopt low input techniques and campaigning for better protection of rivers. Most of our wildlife has adapted to traditional mixed arable/livestock countryside, ancient and managed woodland.
I'd wager the above would have a greater positive impact than pushing rewilding. Which is, regardless of intent, attempting to revert a heavily populated island back into a pre-holocene world.
I have a sneaking suspicion the term ‘re-wilding’ has more to do with the general global climate agenda box ticking and virtue signalling than it has to do with genuine conservation/protection/creation of natural habitats.
I'm chuffed to hear they are trying to revive the legendary Aurochs. THOSE would be something to see!
I support the reintroduction of the wildboar as we have a lot of areas of poorly managed woodland that needs to be recultured in the undergrowth. I love the introduction of beavers and am glad that the reintroduction of the wildcat is being worked on, as we need more predators. Then Lynx. Then we can really talk about bigger herbivores. Though I am glad we have 4 eurasian bison in the first stage of being released. Widespread release too early yet.
Agreed, would love to see greater biodiversity provided it swings in the right direction. People are worried about the beavers but they'll help recreate the wetlands that were destroyed, which will improve bird, reptile and amphibian populations. I think we should consider Eurasian Lynx long before we release huge herbivores, you're spot on with that. If we could also ban the free roaming of domestic cats too, this would help the wildcat population greatly and reduce needless predation on various bird, reptile, amphibian and small mammal species.
Brilliant as always 👌👏
Thank you!
With the Bison, even if they weren't originally native, the aurochs was. It woud be the replacement of one for another and give how endangered they are, theres a lot of places they can do some good.
Whenever i travel to Banbury i see Eagles soaring quite often. Managed to get some cool pictures and videos.
As some one who is trying my apsolute best trying to get into the conservation sector, I only have a few months at college and then I hope I could do get into a university in wildlife conservation at the lakes. As for my career aims is to restore this land as mutch as possible before I am to do careers in Canada
I got the impression that you implied that the capercaillie was on the way to extinction in the world. “150 male capercaillies in the world”. Living in Sweden where 25% of this species are to be found and where it is still hunted, I was alarmed. There is a decline in southern Sweden, but the population is estimated to be somewhere between 400,000 and 900,000 birds. The gap between the estimations suggests that no one is particularly interested.
8:20 neither good or bad just GREAT!!
The bison’s are doing well in kent and have had a calf also beavers have been spotted in kent as well
Ive had a White Tailed Sea Eagle fly to my hand on a day long experience to fly them and other raptors at Eagle Heights,Kent.Amazing to have a massive Eagle fly to your hand,although most of the time the food was snatched from my hand and only settled on my hand 1 time,it was a still an incredible experience
The west coast of Scotland that has any forest or large areas of scrub land is full of wild bore, and I have had many incidents of almost crashing into them as they come running onto the road from the brambles next to the road
The reason why Barn owls are listed both as a native and non-native is because male British barn owls (Tyto alba alba) have pure white chest while Central European barn owls (T. a. guttata) have brown spotted chest. They're subspecies of each other. I guess it is similar to the issue of red squirrels and grey squirrels.
Aw, the beavers are adorable.
Cheers!
They are. I love beavers. Not the ginger ones though. Shudder.
I'm glad the Euasian Bittern has avoided extinction in the UK. The male makes a strange mating call, rather like a person blowing over the top of a flagon. I like all Ardeidae.
Bison were reintroduced into the American Great Plains to help maintain that environment. From a count of around 30,000 there are now estimated to be around 500,000.
There was a herd near Stonehaven, in Scotland, but unfortunately they all had to be culled due to BovineTB.
The other question is are they wild or livestock since they are enclosed and cannot roam as they would normally do in the wild?
Re your final paragraph. Exactly!
Extinct!
Yet are back?
Hmm!
I must be missing something.
Jurassic Park must be a documentary then.
"Extinct in the UK"- also known as locally extinct. I have heard David Attenborough say the exact same thing and thats good enough for me.
I have to wonder who was the first person to consider tasting the beaver territory marking fluid Castoreum and think "hell yeah, that tastes like vanilla" !
I was walking around the Norfolk Broads recently and kept hearing a bird screeching. Wonder if it was a Bittern? 'Orrible sound, almost like a child screaming?
That sounds like it may have been a water rail :)
@@AShotOfWildlife Ah, good to know, thanks for info.
bitterns are actually miniature storks and herons
Ever since I’ve heard about the Beavers on the river Avon I’ve been determined to try and spot some as I live close by, too bad they haven’t released the locations so there may or may not be any local to me 😂
I did NOT know about some of them.
I think it's good news on the whole but I'm a bit worried about the speed with which wild boar breed, I've seen what's happened in texas, I don't know if these are the exact same but the ones in texas breed more than wild rabbits. However, obviously in texas they won't have to deal with freezing winters like we have here.
I'm not an expert or anything, so it's just my opinion.
Shame about the capercailie (don't know how to spell it)
If only we could get did of those horrible mink : (
Next I'm hoping for some wolves in the highlands
I really doubt that'll happen. It would be amazing to see but I don't know if there's the space for them.
@@AShotOfWildlife That's a shame, They were talking about it in the 10s so I was expecting them by now. To me Bison is an odder choice to introduce than wolves.
@@talontales there's a wolf sanctuary in Cumbria but I'm pretty sure thier movements are severely restricted. From what I know of it, the idea was to use them to breed the wolves to release into the wild eventually...
Awesome
Cheers!
Without a doubt it’s fantastic that these animals are making a comeback, whether naturally or introduced. It’s vital that they are given the space that they need to roam, increase diversity and basically do they’re thing.
This subsequently will have the desired positive impact on the environment, that the entire nation will benefit from.
This I fear tho will be the biggest obstacle/push back by private land owners and farmers, I wouldn’t imagine that giving up all those crop fields, sheep & cow grazing, that’s been in their family for generations, back to nature, will get that much buy in with many of the aforementioned. I hope 🙏 I’m wrong and there is huge buy in to increase our wild space. Could start with the national parks…There is always the very important and the obvious need to have something to naturally control said herbivore numbers in these areas (which is clearly already the case with Deer numbers in the UK) We need our carnivores back otherwise the imbalance will increase massively on other species all the way down to the smallest. One aspect needs the other, and it’s the right thing to do. Let’s hope that ultimately that’s the aim and we are prepping the way for more re-introductions, I don’t think we could be far from a being in the position to offer a larger carnivore the opportunity to come home. The Lynx would be a fantastic edition to our ‘semi’ sterile countryside and I am sure will become as iconic here as in the many other places it inhabits. 😁
I think avocets reintroduced themselves naturally…
What about the European Crane or the great Bustard?
I'll probably do another video to include those, and the red kite, the pool frog etc.
@@tamsin6455 yes, we see tgem fairly often this way now as well. Much less than the west of the country but still far more than 20 years ago :)
All British people love a beaver!
I cant speak for everyone, I think they are very useful though.
“Loudest bird in the uk”
Oh it can’t be that loud! *looks at the way it screams*
Me: 😦
The conflict between the pine Martin and the Scottish turkey is ancient and natural. Seems to work out okay in Norway.
Love the idea of re introducing lost species but serious considerations need to be made on farmers etc with the damage they may cause.
Bizons are magnificent creatures i come from European Bizon homeland and we never have problem with them or wolfs.
Rewilding is excellent. I would like to see wolves and lynx returned to the wild.
Do you think that would work in Brittan?
Here in Sweden there is a lot of debate about wolves and we have plenty of space.
@@sunesnigel Yes it works, the worries about wolves is seriously misplaced based on fear, ignorance and stupidity. There is not a significant inrease in predation of domestic animals like sheep for an example, it's a myth.
As much as I would love to see wolf back. Dogma killed them off, there where some reports we still had little pockets of wolf up until the 19th century. Though nature conservationists would say they got haunted out as far back as the 16th/18th century. We killed them off out of fear from mythology stories. The Lynx would be more plausible and excepted. If I where a millionaire I would buy 300 lynx and let them out all over the uk. See what happens.
This is not just a good idea..........it's a super idea!
I don't get how we can wipe out native species so easily. Yet we struggle to get rid of invasive species
That's a very good point .
Reintroducing Canadian Wood Bison would be a better fit in the UK than wisent if it was a species of wood Bison that went extinct.
All. Good
Judging by some of your videos and accent, I think you are relatively local to me. If you fancy coming down to Kingfisher Nature reserve near Ely, Cambridge, we have European bison, konik ponies, and apparently a large portion of the bittern population, as well as an SSSI. I work at the bushcraft school, so I might be able to get to staying over night if you fancy camping.
Hello. Thanks for getting in touch. I'm a little down the road in Norwich but I did study in Cambridge and have been to Ely a few times.
That's a fantastic offer, one that I will take you up on if that's okay. Are the bison in a place where they can be seen? Not approached of course.
@@AShotOfWildlife Absoluetely, they do wonder but are enclosed in the centre of the reserve to stop them from going AWOL, there are a few raised viewing areas as well. I may also be mixing up Bison and Water buffalo.
Hello. I might be passing through that way on Saturday, is the reserve public access?
Isn’t a owl considered a bird of prey so technically the biggest bird of prey is a owl in Britain
Owls are birds of prey, but none in the UK (or the world in fact) are as big as a white tailed eagle.
I wonder if these small mammals stand a chance. I see comments about us having no big predators. I don't see that as the issue. I lean more towards hunters and dogs stopping the numbers growing at any substantial rate legal or not. Small pockets on protected lands maybe but could you imagine a group of British teenagers coming across a beaver dam and leaving it alone?
I hope that the numbers all animals will keep increasing,I love wild life,we should all be protecting them,and the places they live in,stop cutting our trees down just to build more roads than we need,it is affecting our eco system.
I would bet the beavers can control flooding better than some authorities 😅
I bet the government would slap a hosepipe ban on the beavers!
I see on Russian-Siberia documentaries they are recovering mammoths from areas of melting rice. Still with skin, flesh, blood and tissue intact. They are seeking to replicate them with mammoth DNA transfer to female elephants. Same technique as the sheep 'Dolly.' I look forward to one day having the occasional mammoth back.
What about the timber wolf? 🐺
If you have bison, you need wolves.
Well, I agree that there needs to be some form of control. I dont know what controls numbers of bison in eastern poland, there are wolves but I doubt they predate bison very much in that area.
what about the lynx(es) and wolf(s)?
I think there may be a couple of lynx in the wild in the UK (probably deliberate releases) but there are definitely no wolves here.
Im always stunned at how the government class canada geese as non native yet they made their home here naturally. Release from rescues is forbidden unless you have permits and yet the domestic cat or the feral cat is allowed to be released into the wild, even near nature reserves. They are responsible for the destruction of reptiles, amphibians, birds, small mammals and even the scottish wildcat by hybridisation. The turtle dove, scottish wildcat and the natterjack toad amongst others are decreasing at a massive rate. Its sad that the government doesnt really care
Rewilding,.....What a great way to go,.....
yes u need both prey and predators so what think is prey first for a few years and then the predators so the prey stands a good chance
Cheers. It will be interesting to see what the future and direction of conservation brings!
Bison yes what about reindeer in Scotland !
Well.... I suppose reindeer could be argued onto this list but I dont know how I feel about it. In my mind, bison are hopefully going to be free roaming again at some point soon whereas I dont think there are any plans (or the space) for the same thing to happen with Reindeer. In my mind, they are livestock rather than reintroduced.
They have been humming and hawing about the wolf packs in Scotland for decades....my whole life in fact and I am in my 60s! I think the fact they have to cull deer every year attests to the fact they dont need to kill domestic animals!
Another cracking info video Liam. Putting 'things back' as they should be is a great idea but, as Mark Barker eludes to it would mean putting everything back - wolves especially; but also Lynx and Bear. As someone who used to involved with the management of Roe, Sika and Goat populations in the Scottish Borders I always understood I was taking the place of the 'extinct' apex predators, and that 'rewilding' done correctly means putting back those apex species if you are to avoid the 'population management" by man.
Management of current deer populations for instance, is vital, otherwise there would be three very big problems 1. local gene pool degeneration. 2. expanding populations basically eating themselves out of house and home, which in turn leads to 3. population expansion into unforeseen adjoining areas which may or may not be able to support them because of clashes with human interest - nothing pi**es some one off more than a Roe Buck deheading all their prize roses at 4am on a summers morning.
It's always going to be the necessary apex predators that will suffer from persecution by humans, as the recent poisonings of young White-tails in the south proves. Taken to the extreme, a small child being killed by wolves, Lynx or Bear while out hiking with its parents in the Peak District wouldn't go down too well in the press or with the general public either! But if we 'turned back the clock' with proper rewilding that's the sort of risk I think we would be taking.
Humans live side by side with stable natural food chains all over the world - virtually everyone in North America who goes "into the woods" prepares to do so accordingly - bear spray, snake boots, a GUN perhaps.
But can you see the current society we live in here in the UK excepting this sort of paradigm shift? Personally I can't, even though I'd be quite happy to do so myself.
Roads are another consideration. I can think of at least 7 areas which are currently heavily deer-managed simply because the areas are bounded by motorways and busy dual carriageways and the deer herds are boxed in just as much as they would be in a deer park.
Without carrying on much further - I could write a book on this - the only form of "rewilding" properly would be to put everything back including the apex species AND to remove all human influence on that area. It is the human condition to improve their lot in life and to protect their property and stock, and nothing would stop a farmer from shooting a wolf on sight, or employing someone else to do so - it happens everywhere else and goes under the banner of pest control.
You can't put all the species required for correct rewilding back into the ecosystem of the British Isles without paying a price for it; and the price isn't the direct cost of reintroduction, but the cost of the potential fall-out.
It can only take place in tightly controlled areas that securely fence everything in, and that my friend is the definition of a zoo or wildlife park.
Nature is quite simply a species pyramid where pretty much everything kills everything else to survive. A 30 strong pack of wolves will kill anything it can chase down, just the same as a family of nesting Blue Tits will kill and devour every little green caterpillar they can find - fact, other than the true herbivores, all species are killers - no matter how cute Michaela Strachan thinks they look on Spring Watch.
Apologies for the length and gloominess of this comment Liam, but this whole reintroduction "thing" needs to be thought through thoroughly because a lot of people in favour of it don't really look at the implications down the track.
Personally I'd be in favour it all, and take my chances when going out to do my photography - if I got mauled to death by a Bear it would be my fault; and the wife would be quite chuffed too!
Stupid idea we haven't got the space for Wild Hogs let alone Bison, might well bring in Elephant's to destroy the woodland
All good.
I wish people would leave them alone as WE are partly responsible for these extinction of these wonderful creatures as they have a right to live there lives just as we are
We constantly hear people complain about the amount of farms and especially cows. What are bison? Cows!
Why would people complain about cows?
Wild animals are turned loose on a farmer's land, but doesn't become part of his property is something I don't understand completely!
If a person can own land, then are things that on his property should be his.
I live the rewilding!! We need more :D
The only problem being those that want to hoard land and make impassable barriers.
Its more expensive but completely doable, and worth it, to protect individual fields and give them and us the space to roam.
All these estates making there money off shootig birds have a horrendous impact on our right to roam and our wildlife.
Its disgusting that to continue hoarding the land, they slay any native species that pose a threat to the birds they want to murder :S
Backwards!
I don’t partake of pheasant shooting but shooting estates are an incredible haven for wildlife and protection from development,and England has probably the best network of footpaths in the world.
Ideally we should all be allowed to wander where we like but very sadly the country is overdeveloped,overpopulated and a high proportion of people don’t have a clue about nature and would cause damage.
Wild boars are a massive pest in Texas! Thousands of feral breeders on the loose stripping fields and farmlands! They grow big too! It is Texas!
What about the Cornish Chough? Recolonised Cornwall in 2001 after an absence of 50 years
Do you really equate the Chough with boars and bison ? Never have I heard of the chough being a danger to life, but boars and bison are an entirely different matter. As for the beaver they are not a threat to life and are supposedly beneficial. But as much of the countryside is farmed these days, that benefit has yet to be proved beyond all doubt.
@@johnlewis9745 YES - went EXTINCT but are now back. Hoping for a similar story for the red squirrel.
With the boars, watch out for them impacting farmland. In America we have seen them explode without a native predator. Wolves or bobcats would be a good start. Not many farmers would warm up to releasing wolves. But they have a place in the natural process.
This Yank thinks very well of this project.
I would love to be involved in such a task.
When is lynx coming back
sadly the common is now rare so dont think your changing much
Bison as farm business
I may be in the minority here, but I believe that we should have learned not to mess with nature by now. Reintroductions of extinct species into ecosystems which have changed in the time since might not be a good idea.