Europe – Page 20 – See Animals Wild

February 19, 2021July 1, 2022

Plans for first deep coal mine in 20 years, the Cumbrian government is now having to reconsider permission for a deep coal mine

At a time when many people are discussing whether we can even afford to continue to extract the fossil fuels we have already started to extract, and when the government is talking about leading the world in cutting fossil fuel use, the local Cumbrian government has given permission for the first deep coal mine in 30 years.

This decision by the Cumbrian local government has been remade on three occasions. The government of the UK in Westminster has claimed this is a local matter and that they have no right to get involved. Obviously this is patently absurd – what’s more if we are to have any chance of meeting our emission reduction promises the government must immediately abandon its foolish position, and make it clear that it is not going to happen.

Clearly despite the promises made about reducing carbon emissions, and the progress made in places such as virtually the end of coal burning for power, are not baked in successes and we must make sure to keep the pressure on the government to keep going and indeed ratchet up the speed of which we deal with a problems.

February 15, 2021July 1, 2022

Even more beavers to be released across Europe

The recovery of the European beaver seems to be accelerating, with many planned reintroductions across many counties within the UK.

Alps (including Julian and Balkan extension)

The Alps as well as the Julian, and the Dinaric Alps

A vast mountain range in central Europe, covering almost 300,000 square km (115,000 square miles). This place would naturally have been a wildlife haven. However lying at the center of Europe, the wildlife populations have been extirpated (a word for local extinction) from different sections of this range over the centuries. Importantly, the Alps have also had human settlements dating back a very long way (indeed, there is traces of Neanderthals in the alps 40,000 years ago. As such it is essential that as the wildlife populations are allowed to recover, this happens in a way that benefit the local human population.

One of the best-known and largest range of mountains in Europe, the Alps are a large mountain range that is shared between France, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, and Slovenia. Measuring around 1200 km wide and 250 from top to bottom, this mountain range is huge. It includes Mont Blanc the tallest mountain in Europe. The part of the range covering Italy and Slovenia are also sometimes called the Julian Alps. Beyond this, with almost no gap, the Dinaric Alps, which lie in the Balkans continue this chain, stretch from Southern Croatia through Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and on into Kosovo and Albania in the Southeast.

As with other mountain ranges in Europe, there are a number of mountain specialists such as alpine marmot and chamois, as well as ibex. Due to the relative isolation of mountain ranges, generally each has its own subspecies of animals such as ibex and therefore there are often not that many making them prone to local extinction. Below you will find links for each European Alpine country, this will go into more detail on each countries success at preserving the big 3 – bear, wolf and lynx; the smaller creatures can generally be seen throughout the alps, though many are altitude specific.

The Alps have a small but growing population of all of the 3 big predators of Europe wolf, bears and lynx. As in other parts of Europe there ride has been bumpy, however they appear to now be starting to do far better. Mountain ranges such as this, can often supply a last refuge of various wildlife due to the difficulty of hunters and Poachers from getting into the mountains often enough to eradicate them completely. A large mountain range like this which struggles so many countries can provide highways between different countries to allow the animals to recolonize.

There are currently about 100 wolves, split between the French and Italian Alps, with around 40 on the German side. It is thought that eight have crossed the border into Switzerland, though most of these are individuals so it is not thought there have been many successful raising of young. A Swiss wolf protection group estimates that there are now 300 wolf packs roaming the Alps. Now given the number of countries that it covers, this is not a high number, though it does suggest that recovery is well on its way.

There is a population of about 30-40 bears in the Italian Alps, though these are sparsely populated, and continue through the Apennine mountain range along the center of Italy (it is thought that there are around 60 of these bears in total). Lynx spread throughout parts of the Alps there are areas where they are not present. There is a good number in the west Alps where they are thought to be spreading nicely. Also exist in the east, in places like northern Croatia.

Obviously this is a large area, and therefore although the places you can go to increase your odds of seeing wildlife. I will attempt to build a network of pages to help in this search, though as with any wildlife watching nothing is guaranteed.

The Alps are spread across France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. These countries can be well split in two as far as their wildlife watching prospects. France Italy Germany and Slovenia all have populations of wolves bears and lynx, while these are usually small they are established either naturally or through reintroduction.

Liechtenstein is too small to have a permanent population of any of these animals that is sustainable on its own in the long term, though from time to time animals are likely to wander across the border. Switzerland has no bears, though it does host about 80 wolves and about 100 lynx split into 2 populations (one of those is in the alps). Austria is thought to have two wolf packs , and also has a small number of bears that have returned from neighboring countries.

However, all countries in the Alps have healthy herbivore populations, including alpine marmots, chamois, ibex and even the Alpine Salamander is wide spread. This means that a hike in the Alps should lead to animal sightings, and children are likely to be fascinated if they are quiet enough to see any of the wildlife around you. While the predators are returning, there are still parts of the Alps where sightings are highly unlikely, and even in high density areas, expect to spend much time sitting quietly in order to get lucky. Having said that, the Alps are full of vantage points from which you can sit with binoculars or a telescope and keep watch over a large area – your best chance of seeing these charismatic but shy animals.

Below is a link to each of the countries, with more localized information and places to stay.

Forest of Dean

Forest of Dean - Boar Watching

The Forest of Dean is perhaps one of the biggest and healthiest woodlands within the UK.

Part of this is down to its significant population of wild boar.

Before humans hunted wild boar to extinction, they were a highly important part of our ecosystem, and generally woodlands in the UK show their absence.

What do I mean? One of the benefits of wild boar is that their rooting behavior. While humans often do not like this, as this rooting behavior can destroy gardens or picturesque roundabouts, areas that have had this treatment are perfect for trees to germinate and start to grow.

Indeed we were astounded walking around the forest to see so many small copses of new tree nurseries. In this sense wild boar fulfill a similar niche of being ecosystem engineers as beavers in rivers.

Apart from the boar, there is a healthy population of deer. Roe deer exist here naturally. Fallow deer were introduced by the Normans and this is the most common species to see. In recent years Muntjac deer have also recently become established and are fascinating. There are a small number of red deer that still exist though seeing these is a lucky day.

Wild boar are surprisingly large animals and we have had a couple of encounters with them on our visits.

The best way to spot them is by driving some of the back roads in the early evening.

I have once spotted a family from the car, and this year two boar ran past while we were walking a forest path.

Both were in a similar location. I will put together a page of information that will be sent with any booking made from the accommodation further down the page, or I can provide just this information for £10 if you have found a place to stay elsewhere.

View of the forest

River Wye running through

Boar track among dog tracks

Dung beetle at work

Droppings - Pine marten?

More rooting behavior signs

The Forest of Dean is a truly wild woodland. While it is scattered with villages and towns, this is the only place I have seen beetles actually behaving as dung beetles, in the UK.

The government has also started a process of translocating pine martens to the area, and while the animal is shy, signs of its presence will increase over the next few years. If the translocation is successful, then it will also slowly remove the grey squirrels from this wood, which apart from being good for the health of the trees, will allow red squirrels to recolonize.

Visiting a place like this allows you to hunt for signs of the animals such as tracks, as well as spotting the actual animal itself.

Boar are highly intelligent, and fascinating to see. Care should be taken as they can be dangerous, particularly when they have young.

Places to stay

Below is a variety of lodgings which are close to wild parts of the forest. There is also a link to search all accommodation available within the forest of dean. Any bookings support the work of the site. The places we have listed are close to where we have had our sightings, however boar are found throughout the forest so do not feel restricted to just the places we listed.

Campsites will be listed below the hotels.

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Devon river otter – beavers

River Otter in Devon - Beavers

Beavers can be seen once again, living wild in the UK. This is fantastic news for the cleanliness of our rivers. Despite rumours spread about their impacts on fish the beavers return is fantastic for the health of the river. Furthermore, beaver dams often make great nursaries for fish fry.

The UK is missing much of its wildlife, that once lived here. Humans have gradually eliminated much of the mammals that we once shared this country with. In particular, in England we have lost almost all large wilderness ecosystems, which makes it hard to reintroduce mammals we pushed to local extinction.

However, beavers are an exception. Being water mammals, they live in rivers – places that we cant grow crops anyway.

People have argued that they would dam large numbers of rivers, and flood vast landscapes, making it impossible for fish to migrate up stream (bizarrely forgetting that beavers and fish have coexisted in the UK and the rest of Europe for millions of years). However in Europe, one of the most useful things that Beavers do, is reduce the height of flooding, and largely eliminate flash flooding. Indeed, a village in Wales that had been flooded for three years in a row, set aside 10 acres above the village and introduced a family of beaver, and there have been no floods since then.

Back in 2008 a family of beavers appeared on the River Otter. The government immediately said that they needed testing for diseases, but would not be allowed to return regardless of the outcome. The village complained, and eventually the beavers were given five years of living on the River Otter, during which time a study would be carried out.

Initially, there was concern we did not know the origin of these beavers. Genetic analysis showed that they were European beavers, and a health check showed them to be clear of illnesses that can afflict them.

As expected, the beavers were highly beneficial. They have thrived on the river, and now around 30 lives in the original stretch of river, there are now thought to be between 300 and 500 living wild in Devon and this number is only increasing. They have increased biodiversity, slowed river flow and improved water quality. Recently they were given the right to remain permanently by the British government. Given the space, beavers will likely return to all parts of the UK in the next few decades.

Beavers are wonderful animals to watch. As environmental engineers they change the river and surrounding area, and these changes are often highly beneficial for other animals. In Europe, beaver pools are often very good for fish nurseries, as well as being highly popular for both water voles and otters.

The beavers on the River Otter are no different. I recently spent some time with my family on this river watching the beavers.

As with any wildlife trip, I had done extensive research so knew roughly where to look. However we found it surprisingly easy to find them.

Beavers make a fantastic introduction to wildlife watching for small children. This is because they are reasonably predictable, most active in the early morning and early evening.

Also, given their security of being safe in the water you can sit or stand on one bank and watch them on the opposite bank, and they will happily get on with their own lives.

My children are six and eight and in a weekend we saw the beavers perhaps six times for a total of around an hour. Their excitement was wonderful to see

A walk along the bank of the River Otter may well lead to a sighting. However if you are in the right place, you are highly likely to see them.

Below are a series of links for you to use on your visit. These should help you find a place to stay nearby.

I will put together some brief information about where we have encountered beavers, and where we found the dams. The cost will be £10, though if you book accomodation through one of the links below it will be reduced to £5.

The area where the beavers live is covered in villages. Generally these are small so staying anywhere in the area is good. The maps hows all booking.com listed places, or indeed use the blue enclosed search link.

Beaver dam

Dam with flooded wood

Places within Ottery St Mary

This is a rural area, so hotels are not exactly where the beavers live. However, beavers have spread throughout the river otter valley, and there are now thought to be around 30. Use the above link to access rest of the hotels in the area, and the map below to see what is available

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March 17, 2018December 3, 2023

UK extinct species and imported species – Part 2

Grey squirrels- invaders

These animals cause significant damage to woodland throughout the UK. They were first introduced to Henbury park in Cheshire, but have quickly spread. Being less reliant on trees than red squirrels they have done very well though it is thought that red squirrels were not doing well anyway. A great deal of money and time has been spent trying to control their spread, as they often carry squirrel pox which kills red squirrels quickly, meaning they don’t share land for long.

Continue reading “UK extinct species and imported species – Part 2”

March 17, 2018December 3, 2023

UK extinct species and imported species – Part 1

Huge numbers of species have been disappearing from some or all of their original range in the wild. While there are other reasons for animals to disappear from areas, humans are usually the biggest. This is certainly the case on a micro scale. The majority of impacts of climate change has shifted the entire range for a species in one direction or another. Many mountainous species have shifted their range up hill as the planet has warmed. The problem with this shifting is that often it leaves species stuck in small areas of suitable habitat at the top of hills or mountains. Continue reading “UK extinct species and imported species – Part 1”

February 18, 2018December 3, 2023

The Conservatives record on the environment

When David Cameron entered 10 Downing Street, he talked about it being the greenest government ever. While they have had to be in coalition for much of the period that the have been in power, it is clear that much of the negative effects on the environment has been pushed through by the conservatives not their partners.
Continue reading “The Conservatives record on the environment”

February 17, 2018December 3, 2023

Bear (Croatia)

To put this sighting in context, we had spent 3 lovely days hiking in the Northern Velebit National Park national park in Croatia, it had been beautiful, but apart from a brief sighting of two deer from a large distance away we hadn’t seen any wildlife. We were moving on and so had left the park. It was quite early in the morning and due to the remote location of the park there was little artificial noise. About 100m beyond the front gate we stopped suddenly when we heard noise from our left. Moments later the was more noise as a large bear crashed down the steep bank and started to amble across the road. It paused briefly in the middle of the road and glared at us as we sat perhaps 10m away. It then ambled across the rest of the road and crashed down an equally steep bank. At this point I got out of the car and walked to the edge of the road and looked down into the dark of the forest. The bear had not moved from the bottom of the bank, and he turned his head and fixed me with a stare for a few seconds before disappearing further into the gloom of the forest.

February 7, 2018December 3, 2023

Greening the western lifestyle

If we are to be able to continue to live on planet Earth we are going to need to stop releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It is unfortunate that at the current time, this simple fact is not looked on as a fact by some of the big world leaders.

One of the difficult things to look at is that some of the publicised success the UK has had in the last couple of decades is false. When looking carefully you can see that we have exported the emissions, by having things manufactured in India or China for example. This makes it clear that much of the pressure on manufacturers must come from consumers rather than governments. Continue reading “Greening the western lifestyle”