After being pushed to the brink of extinction, wolves, lynxes and bears are returning to colonize Europe, according to a study
In the last few years bears, wolves, lynxes are finally returning to colonize different areas ofEurope, after being pushed to the brink of extinction over the past century.
The good news comes from a new study carried out by a group of researchers from eleven Parsi, coordinated by the Department of Biology and Biotechnology of the Sapienza University of Rome and by the National Research Council (CNR).
According to the researchers, from 1992 to 2015 there was an increase in the number of specimens of large carnivores in several areas of Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the northwestern Iberian Peninsula and northern Scandinavia. Instead, contrasting trends emerged in southern and western Europe.
Behind the return of wolves, lynxes and bears would be theincreased forest cover and the decrease in the density of the human population in rural areas, but also a greater tolerance on the part of man and the reduction to the practice of hunting.
"It is very likely that the coexistence of large carnivores with humans in Europe is not only linked to the availability of a suitable habitat, but also to factors such as human tolerance and policies to decrease the hunting of these species and this allows for new opportunities to reconcile the conservation and management of these species with socio-economic development in rural areas ”, explained Marta Cimatti della Sapienza, first author of the work.
Although bears, lynxes and wolves have returned to populate large areas of Europe, conservation work must continue.
"The association between the different use of land, the abandonment of rural areas, the increase in protected areas and the expansion of large carnivores in Europe will also be important in the coming decades", underlined Luigi Boitani della Sapienza, co-author of the studio and president of the Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe.
According to the researchers, the recolonization of Europe of large carnivores will continue in the coming years and therefore efforts are needed to enable the coexistence between these species and man. Meeting a bear, a lynx or a wolf could in fact become more and more frequent and it is important to invest in environmental education, so that they do not occur conflicts.
"Taking advantage of socio-economic and landscape changes to create new recovery opportunities for species will be a challenge for Europe, which must be accompanied by proper environmental education, legislative regulations and management aimed at mitigating conflicts between humans and wildlife in the areas recently recolonized by these large carnivores ”, concluded Luca Santini, researcher at Sapienza and Cnr and senior author of the study.
The results of the work were published in the Diversity and Distributions magazine.
Sources of reference: Uniroma / CNR / Diversity and Distributions
Read also:
- The only lynx in Trentino is still alive and looking for a mate
- Mother Bear and her cub were shot dead after boarding a Russian nuclear submarine
- Terrible, a farmer strangles with his bare hands a wolf who had attacked and killed his dogs
