Germany
Germany is the 7th largest country in Europe. Despite its size, much of its wildlife populations were lost in the past. Some of these have returned, and there is ongoing debate about bringing back those still missing.
Wolves are thought to number about 1200 within the boundaries of Germany, with the bulk of these found in the north, having naturally migrated back into the country from Poland – where they were never fully eradicated.
Bears have been extinct in Germany, since around 1800, but given the countries that surround it, have recovering bear populations, it seems inevitable that they will eventually recolonize Germany as well. There have been a number of bears which have wandered across the border. These have usually been met with a certain amount of hysteria, and have ended either when the bear wandered back over a border, or unfortunately in other cases with the animal being killed. There is plenty of space for the bear, but it will only successfully.Â
There has been a concerted effort to return Lynx to Germany after eradication back in the 1850s. The project occured in the 1970s and there are currently thought to be almost 200 lynx within Germanys border.
Bison were locally extinct in Germany as well. There has been an effort to reintroduce them in the last 10 years. The population (which all live in one area) currently stands at 26.
Directly below is a sightings map. Please add sightings to the map that you are lucky enough to encounter. Currently information is permanently available, though it is likely that at some point, I will move historical data behind a membership wall, in order to avoid it being used by hunters.
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Does the wolf belong in Germany? Not according to the CSU
The Christian Social Democrats believe that there is no place for wolves in Germany, and members of the party have called for their intentional extinction. Taking around 10% of the vote they are a small but relatively influential party – and given the way that elections work in Germany, coalitions are common. Unfortunately, coalitions will …
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20 meat and dairy firms emit more greenhouse gas than Germany Britain or France
We know that meat eating is one of the activities that has a detrimental effect on the environment. Not only that, but we know that much of the meat is created in factory settings the pollution can be particularly high. Livestock rearing is responsible for around 14.5% of human warming emissions. in 2020 almost half …
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Germany has announced that it intends to pay coal power plants to be decommissioned early, perhaps they could instead house huge batteries
While Germany has made great progress in greening its power grid, it still has a substantial amount of coal power plants, and to stand any chance of meeting Germany’s carbon reduction goals these will need to be phased out before they would naturally have come to the end of their life. The German government has …
Fire on ship carrying cars has been blamed on electric cars – is this true? While it is not clear, it is not particularly likely, and it should not make you fear electric cars
A total of 3000 cars caught fire on the ship, but where did the fire start? The ship was 199m long and started on the ship while it was on route from Germany to Egypt. It caught fire off the coast of Holland. Of the 3000 cars, 350 of the cars are Mercedes and 25 …
Wolves have returned to Belgium after 100 years
Estimates vary, but it is thought that 15-20 wolves are in the country. This is made up of 1 pack in Flanders, and another in Southern Wallonia as well as a newly settled pair (this pair is likely to become a pack if allowed to survive). Across the border in France and Germany, numbers are …
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Wolves in the Alps are growing fast – 25% up in one year
The alps are essentially the centre of western Europe, while the Carpathians are the centre of eastern europe.
If the UK only emits 1% of the worlds carbon emissions what can we do? well a lot
There is often an argument put forwards in the UK, that as the UK is just a small country we cannot do much when it comes to global warming. After all we only emit about 1% of the worlds emissions, right? Well firstly, given the world has a population of 8 billion (roughly speaking) and …
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Are elderly people afraid of the EV switch? and is Toyota correct?
This morning, I read an article in the Express. Now it is true, that the express is strongly leaning towards Conservative thinking point, but this argument is absurd. According to the article 2/3 of UK drivers want this ban pushed further into the future.
Rich countries continue to fail to live up to pledge of $100 billion dollars a year to poor countries to help climate mitigation
The worlds international deals of all kinds rely on countries doing what they promise, though it is true that if a small country promises a big country, then the big country can make them fulfil their pledge. What should happen here? It is by definition the case, that the poor countries are those that has …
15 wolves have now settled in Netherlands with another 11 visitors
While many people suggested that countries like Holland are far to built up to ever have a population of wolves, this is becoming increasingly clear to be wrong. 15 wolves have not only settled in Holland, but have established territory. This includes 4 pairs, which are likely to have cubs later in this year.
Tesla has made more sales than Audi BMW and Mercedes combined in their home market
In September Tesla sold more cars in Germany than Audi A4 BMW 3 series and Mercedes c class combined. Why is this important? Well firstly the Tesla cars are more expensive. As a result they naturally compete against similarly priced cars with a combustion engine. This is why this news is so exciting – it …
Glass is capable of being endlessly recycled – but some countries are better than others
Making new glass from cutlet (small glass pieces) saves significant energy. This is partly because it needs a lower temperature to melt. While it is true that much of the materials that go into glass are not in short supply, it is still more sensible to reuse, particularly if your energy requirements are lower. Apart …
Green projects in the UK are being endangered because of unfair transmission pricing
Transmission charges are paid when transporting electricity from where it is made to where it is used. This is quite normal, and it is the way that the power grid has worked for centuries. This will become ever more important, as the distance between generation and consumption of electricity increases. Why is this distance increasing? …
Building new renewable power generation is cheaper than continuing to burn fossil fuels
For decades, many in the fossil fuel industry and plenty of politicians argued that we cannot move to renewables unless they are cheaper than fossil fuels. Now of course this ignores the fact that they have been for decades if we made fossil fuel users pay all the cost of their use (clean-up, health problems …
Wildcats have returned to the Netherlands on their own after centuries of absence
Many of the environmental issues that the UK faces continue to be worse because we are an island off the coast of Europe. Unlike France, we have to make the conscience choice to reintroduce wolves, where as in France they have returned naturally. Recent rewilding efforts in Germany and Belgium, saturated the local wildcat population …
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The far right is now fear-mongering over extreme climate change, after letting go of climate denialism
Across much of the developed world, far right parties have gradually let go of their stupid climate change denialism and switched smoothly into waving it around as a way to increase peoples fear of immigration. From Nigel Farage in the UK with a range of parties (so little success he has never managed to get …
Two different walrus seen in British waters this year – future? Might they become native once again?
I wrote back in March about a Walrus that was seen around Ireland for some time. There were 2 walrus in British waters last year, a male and a female. The last male walrus and his harem of 3 females were killed back in 1847. Both walrus are thought to be young. 2 Walrus in …
First documented attack on Gorillas by a group of Chimpanzees
Despite the ridiculous reputation that the Gorilla has been given, of a terrifying beast that will rip you apart, they are generally very gentle animals. Conversely, Chimpanzees have been shown as a largely gentle species, very similar to humans. This is also quite untrue. Chimpanzees are incredibly effective hunters, and while much of their diet …
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Why are so many African countries on the government’s Covid red list
Out of the 54 countries in Africa 20 currently listed on the British government’s red list. This list is a list of countries that you cannot travel to without then spending 10 days in quarantine. All well and good you might say, after all the government’s main concern is the health of its citizens. The …
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Delacour’s langur is a critically endangered monkey with just 300 of these remain in the wild, but now 80% are protected
Delacour’s langur is a severely endangered primate fewer than 300 of these remain in the wild What is gratifying about this situation, is that more than 80% of the remaining langurs live within a community reserve that has been set up by the locals being supported by various conservation bodies particularly in Germany. This reserve …