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.
News in brief – Otters in Peru, Adelie Penguins and Spring in the Arctic
Peru has set up a national park of 868,000 hectares that will protect the areas many animals and native people. This is one of the remaining areas of untouched Amazon within Peru. A recent survey saw showed that this area had a good population of giant otters. This is particularly exciting because, Continue reading “News in brief – Otters in Peru, Adelie Penguins and Spring in the Arctic”
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”
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”
The loss of wild dogs from the Serengeti – and their return
Image source Burrard-Lucas Photography
Before 1992, as well as the Lions and Cheetah, there were huge packs of African Wild Dog (also called African Hunting Dogs) that would follow the herds as well. This was one of the largest populations of African Wild Dog population so it was devastating to have the population wiped out so quickly. However, the land given to the nomadic people of the Serengeti
Continue reading “The loss of wild dogs from the Serengeti – and their return”
The Kob migration (South Sudan)
Image by Animal Picture Society
In 2011 a new country was created in Africa: South Sudan. This country is roughly the size of France. Before the split there had been a civil war going on much of the time for over 50 years. After the split there was a brief period of calm and scientists were able to go into the country to asses the state of the wildlife.
Astoundingly, despite the extraordinary length of fighting, among much wildlife, there existed a land migration Continue reading “The Kob migration (South Sudan)”
A second home for Asiatic Lions
The decline of the Asiatic lion occurred long before the decline of the African lion. Within the last 200 years lions were found across Asia into parts of eastern Europe. In ancient times they were even found in large parts of the Iberian peninsula, so from the furthest east of Asia to the furthest west of Europe.
Continue reading “A second home for Asiatic Lions”