![]() ![]() In England, although a scientific trial of beavers living freely on the River Otter in Devon this year concluded that they delivered enormous benefits, not just for biodiversity, but flood management, water quality and tourism, the government has yet to authorise their return.Ī decision on beavers in England had been due by the end of the summer but Juniper said he couldn’t give a timetable because of delays caused by the coronavirus crisis. The beavers that were returned to Scotland are now a protected native species again. It might be the biggest species success story in UK conservation history.” “In a few short decades we have taken a species from the brink of extinction to the UK being home to almost 10% of the entire world population. ![]() Today it is a daily sight for millions of people,” said Jeff Knott of the RSPB. “In the 1980s, anyone wanting to see a red kite had to make a special pilgrimage to a handful of sites. Today, there are more than 10,000 red kites across Britain. By 1996, at least 37 pairs were breeding in southern England. Its Chilterns reintroduction by Natural England, the RSPB and other partners saw it spread along the M40 corridor, eating carrion found on the motorway. The species slowly recovered in its Welsh stronghold, but in 1990 only 38 chicks were raised there. Persecution over centuries and egg collectors saw red kite numbers drop to a few breeding pairs in central Wales. “As we face the global nature crisis, this is extremely important for people to know – that it is not a one-way street and we can reverse the flow of these historic trends if we put our minds to it.” “People are looking at many other species, not only birds, but also mammals and invertebrates, to put back some of the living fabric of our islands that’s been depleted over many years from habitat destruction, persecution and chemical pollution,” said Juniper. Specimens from Sweden have since been successfully returned to two sites in Norfolk.Ī rare heathland species once in danger of extinction, it has been successfully re-established at dozens of new sites in its Surrey-Hampshire-Dorset stronghold and on dunes in Wales, Kent and Devon and Cornwall.Ī red kite sits in the treetops in the Oxfordshire countryside Photograph: Geoffrey Swaine/Rex/Shutterstock So far, it appears not to have re-established itself but dozens of local farmers are now using bee-friendly methods that have seen other rare bumblebee species increase in the area.Ī species only found at northerly latitudes, with a more pointed head and longer legs than the common frog, it became extinct in Britain in 1995. This bumblebee became extinct in 1988 and specimens from Sweden were returned to land around Dungeness, Kent, in 2011. It took several decades to re-establish but the world’s biggest population now flies in Somerset and Gloucestershire. ![]() This butterfly fell extinct in 1979 but was reintroduced with caterpillars from Sweden. Scientific studies have shown its dams are habitat for fish, amphibians, invertebrates and birds, while also storing floodwater and filtering pollutants.Īlthough the historical evidence for storks being regular breeding birds in Britain is debated, wild birds have been introduced on the Knepp Estate, West Sussex, breeding successfully for the first time this summer. But unofficial releases on the River Tay in Scotland and the River Otter in Devon have seen the animal multiply. Their population increased very slowly at first but there are now 123 breeding pairs, and has inspired lucrative ecotourism on the island of Mull.Īfter being successfully returned to dozens of European countries, an official trial began in Knapdale, Scotland. Birds were reintroduced to the Highlands from Norway 45 years ago. The last British “sea eagle” was shot in 1918. Today’s population of 10,000 birds is 10% of global population. Birds from Spain and Sweden were reintroduced in England. Down to barely a handful of birds in Wales, the species was protected there and spread naturally. ![]()
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