To Rewild or not to Rewild?

An extremely eye-opening talk on both the success stories and ‘trials & tribulations’ of Rewilding schemes by Anne Riddell; Ecologist and previously, head of Education at Wildwood. Including discussion of the key approaches and mechanisms that have to be considered for a successful rewilding movement and questioning if Britain is ready for the reintroduction of a key mammal species.

‘Giving the land back to the wildlife and wildlife back to the land’ - Rewilding Institute

Rewilding or Species Conservation?

The key principles behind rewilding are the Three C’s; Cores, Corridors and Connectivity. The idea of rewilding is to use the introduction of wildlife to restore trophic interactions whilst considering landscape-scale plans that integrate corridors (movement through landscapes) and the coexistence of differing individuals within the landscape. There are two approaches used in rewilding strategies: ‘Bottom up’ and ‘Top down’, both referring to the regulation and balance of the food chain. Bottom up strategies involve the introduction of herbivores and Top down focus on carnivores; herbivore introduction is mainly used in Europe due to being less ‘politically difficult’.

Importance of Keystone Species

Bottom up strategies utilise “natural gardeners''; introducing species that plough, prune, bash and disperse seeds. Examples of these are: wild boar, bison and wild horses, species such as these are considered ecosystem engineers. Keystone species used in rewilding are required to be not only the ‘best fit’ for the ecosystem but robust/self sufficient, have strong herd instincts and be wary of people yet defiant to predators.

‘Animal Auschwitz’

The aim of the Oostvaardersplassen rewilding project was to return to a pre-human landscape; with a vision of a ‘Dutch Serengeti’, small numbers of wild horses, red deer and heck cattle were introduced into a fenced reserve in the 1970s with the intention of no human intervention. By 2016, the number of individuals within the park had exceeded the carrying capacity by 7 times - reaching 5300 individuals.

The arrival of a harsh winter in 2017/18 resulted in the death and suffering of approx 3000 individuals, sparking outrage and protests amongst the public and branding the reserve as a severe welfare issue. Without a significant carnivore presence in the park there was no balance within the food chain; resulting in the herbivore population exploding and exceeding both the carrying capacity of the reserve and the natural food sources.

Image: Wild horses introduced into Oostvaardersplassen.

The Beginning of a Trophic Cascade

On the other hand, the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park in the 1990’s was a huge success and triggered mass ecological changes within the park, allowing both species and habitat to flourish. Below is a great video that better explores the depth of the ecological change that occurred in Yellowstone, shown by Riddell in her talk, I would recommend watching!

After Thoughts…

Upon reflection, I found this to be the most interesting talk that i have got involved in during this assignment. I was honestly fascinated by the topic and case studies that Riddell gave and found myself further researching after the talk had concluded!

Rewilding is a topic that I haven't approached in depth with my degree due to my module choices/those available, However, this talk has definitely furthered my interest in pursuing a conservation based career. The opportunity to delve further into rewilding and possibly gain experience within this field is something I would definitely consider moving forward.

Resources

Cover Image: Photo by Photo by Viv Molly on Unsplash.

Image: Photo by Vincent van Zalinge on Unsplash.