Europe's key animals 'making a comeback'

[xchrom]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24230765

Some of Europe's key animals have made a comeback over the past 50 years, a report suggests.

Conservationists say species such as bears, wolves, lynx, eagles and vultures have increased in numbers.

They believe that protection, curbs on hunting and people moving away from rural areas and into cities have helped Europe's wildlife to recover.

The analysis was carried out by the Zoological Society of London, Birdlife and the European Bird Census Council.

[dipsydoodle]

1. Wild lynx to be brought back to British countryside.

From May 2013 :

Wild lynx could be allowed to roam the British countryside for the first time in almost 1,000 years under plans by a group of leading wildlife experts.

Senior biologists and cat specialists are this week due to apply for a license to reintroduce the cats, which can grow up to four feet in length, into an area of forest on the west coast of Scotland.

Under the plans, which have been backed by officials from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), two pairs of Eurasian lynx would be brought to this country from northern Europe.

A new charity, the Lynx UK Trust, has now been set up by the biologists to oversee the project. They are to submit an official application for a permit to Scottish Natural Heritage, which regulates species reintroduction in Scotland.

The initial reintroduction would act as trial to see whether lynx could then be reintroduced to other areas of the country including parts of Wales and northern England.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/10080527/Wild-lynx-to-be-brought-back-to-British-countryside.html



Picture is from the campaign group's FB age.

[Xipe Totec]

2. Interesting and surprising development

One of the stories I have been following in this regard is the cork industry:

Cork oak landscapes cover approximately 2.7 million hectares of Portugal, Spain, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Tunisia and France. As well as providing a vital source of income for more than 100,000 people, these landscapes also support one of the highest levels of biodiversity among forest habitats, including globally endangered species such as the Iberian Lynx, the Iberian Imperial Eagle and the Barbary Deer

(snip)

The increase in the market share of alternative wine stoppers, specifically plastic stoppers and screwtops, could reduce the economic value of cork lands therefore leading to conversion to other uses, abandonment, degradation, and finally loss of one of the best and most valuable examples of a human–nature balanced system.

Because the forests have an economic value to local communities, people care for the forests. This helps maintain their environmental values as well as reducing the risk of fires and desertification

http://www.wwf.org.uk/filelibrary/pdf/corkscrewed.pdf

An amazing influence from such a humble product as the cork.