In the United Kingdom it would take an act by humans to reintroduce animals that have become locally extinct. This is due to the English Channel, it is not possible for an animal to wander across the border. In theory wolves and potentially bears are capable of swimming the channel, but Normandy and Brittany are some of the least wild parts of France and so are unlikely to ever have significant populations of the predators. This means that we in the UK have a requirement to decide if we wish to reintroduce predators, which do not exist elsewhere. I have discussed this in depth in other articles. What I wish to talk about here, is the natural spread of predators back across Europe since the 1970 when increasing numbers of people moved to cities, leaving behind spaces to be filled. Continue reading “Predator recovery across Europe – Part 1 – Wolves”
Death of the last male Northern White Rhino
Image by Ikiwaner
The last surviving male Northern White Rhino died recently. Sudan was 45 which is a good age for a rhino. Indeed were he not the last male of his species his passing would be unremarkable. He is survived only by his daughter and grand daughter. They live on the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya.
This should serve as a warning, as the Continue reading “Death of the last male Northern White Rhino”
Discovery of pine marten populations in the UK
A few years ago, on BBC Spring Watch, the presenters were talking about pine martens, and in the aftermath of the piece they did, it was discovered that there were still two populations of pine martens outside Scotland.
One of these was in Wales, where sightings were made on 40+ occasions.
Continue reading “Discovery of pine marten populations in the UK”
Roads through protected areas
In order to fulfil their purpose of giving a place for large mammals to live naturally, many national parks and nature reserves are very large. Often this is a great draw for tourism, and when done right can create a healthy income for many people living in the area around the park.
However, this area is also a something that often takes a great deal of time to drive around, adding cost for the rest of the economy and so often the road is built across the park. In the short term this can often appear like a good idea, but can have serious problems.
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”
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”
