Connectivity, Mammals

Underpass for elephants on Mount Kenya [East Africa]

Bruce Byers writes: “We need to move toward a spatial pattern in which human activities are scattered in a sea of natural ecosystems, rather than the reverse—natural ecosystems embedded in a human-dominated landscape, as now in most places. Ecological connectivity between wild ecosystems needs to increase to maintain biodiversity in the face of, and for resilience to, climate change, and…” Continue reading Underpass for elephants on Mount Kenya [East Africa]

Rewilding Successes
Forests, Reintroductions

Rewilding in an unlikely landscape [Northeast USA]

Jon Leibowitz writes: “What if someone told you a rewilding story that took place on a grand scale—the size of entire countries? As the story goes, a primeval forest disappears practically overnight (geologically speaking) leaving a landscape reminiscent of modern-day Scotland. Entire forests are brought down, first for lumber and charcoal and then pasture and farms. Carnivores like wolves and cougars are driven out. Even the most common prey, deer and turkey…” Continue reading Rewilding in an unlikely landscape [Northeast USA]

Rewilding Successes1 Comment
Birds, Conservation breeding, Reintroductions

Return of a European native [Western Europe]

Johannes Fritz writes: “Northern Bald Ibises are whimsical birds, with their tuft of iridescent lancet feathers, their bare head with individual black patterns, and their long-curved bill. They are one of the best known and most popular birds in Europe. The species is kept in many zoos throughout Europe, where it is loved by zoo visitors due to the exotic appearance and extraordinary behaviour. But with some luck…” Continue reading Return of a European native [Western Europe]

Rewilding Successes
Coexistence, Mammals

Rewilding hope for a big cat [East Asia]

Huang Qiaowen writes: “I am a young Chinese woman named Kerry. Like many of us, I have found a 2013 photo of a mountain lion walking under the Hollywood sign to be captivating. When I look at it, it’s like seeing an iconic legend of modern society. In China’s capital, Beijing, we are working hard to create the same kind of legend. Since 2017, our organisation, the Chinese Felid Conservation Alliance…” Continue reading Rewilding hope for a big cat [East Asia]

Rewilding Successes
Grasslands, Keystone species, Mammals, Reintroductions

Rewilding the southern Great Plains [Western USA]

Jay Tutchton and Nicole Rosmarino write: “Nearly 25 years ago, the Southern Plains Land Trust (SPLT) sprouted, based on a simple idea: let’s buy as much land as we can, just for the wild ones. SPLT’s vision is to bring back the diversity and abundance of wildlife of the American Serengeti by rewilding the shortgrass prairie of the southern Great Plains. What does “rewilding” mean to us? Let’s start with…”
Continue reading Rewilding the southern Great Plains [Western USA]

Rewilding Successes
Keystone species, Reintroductions, Wetlands

Returning life in the Oder delta [Northern Europe]

Pernilla Hansson writes: “In the northernmost region of Germany and Poland, the Oder river forms part of the border between the countries, culminating in the large Oder delta. The delta consists of a mosaic of environments such as heaths, wetlands, forests, grasslands, and lagoons, most notably the large Stettin lagoon. Both Germany and Poland have recognised that protecting the delta is a…” Continue reading Returning life in the Oder delta [Northern Europe]

Rewilding Successes
Grasslands, Invertebrates, Reintroductions

Mission Blues [Western USA]

Bruce Byers writes: “A breeze was just starting up as we parked along Quarry Road in Brisbane, California, on the eastern slope of San Bruno Mountain. I tagged along with a local butterfly conservation scientist and a two-person team from the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Mission of the day: to capture and translocate some endangered Mission Blue butterflies from this area to Sweeney Ridge…” Continue reading Mission Blues [Western USA]

Rewilding Successes
Forests, Plants

Restoring an Irish Atlantic rainforest [Northern Europe]

Eoghan Daltun writes: “In May 2009 I sold my small house in Dublin and moved with my family to Beara, one of the peninsulas that extend, finger-like, from southwest Ireland into the Atlantic Ocean. There we bought a 73-acre farm that had long been left unused agriculturally for around a century, allowing wild habitats, especially native temperate rainforest, to develop naturally over most of the land…” Continue reading Restoring an Irish Atlantic rainforest [Northern Europe]

Rewilding Successes
Dam removal, Fish, Rivers

The Elwha story [Western USA]

Jerry Freilich writes: “Removing the two dams on the Elwha River in Olympic National Park (Washington) was like turning around a giant ocean liner at sea. Although science and economics clearly showed that the dams needed to be removed, it still took 25 years of hard work and tenacity before public and political opinion was turned around making the seemingly impossible – possible…” Continue reading The Elwha story [Western USA]

Rewilding Successes
Coexistence, Forests, Mammals

The Mali Elephant Project: Tellem’s story [West Africa]

Tellem writes: “Many people believe that I am of the Dogon people of Western Africa, but in fact, I am Tellem. At least according to the colonists. Years ago, when they first came to our lands they asked us who we were. We told them, “We are from here,” which in their ears made the sound “te-lem.” And that is how we got our name, The People from Here. As one of the people from here, I am especially…” Continue reading The Mali Elephant Project: Tellem’s story [West Africa]

Rewilding Successes
Forests, Plants, Rivers

Beginnings: Nick and Margaret’s Place [Southern USA]

Tom Horton writes: “If I were the Choptank River, it’s on Nick and Margaret Carter’s place I’d want to be born, to meander some 70 miles toward Chesapeake Bay, swelling from a sweetwater trickle old Nick can hop across, to my salty mouth, five miles wide down by Tilghman Island. From the Carters’, above the reach of tides and salt, the river seeps cold and clear and steady from beneath the mossy roots…” Continue reading Beginnings: Nick and Margaret’s Place [Southern USA]

Rewilding Successes
Birds, Conservation breeding

Conservation of white-bellied herons [South Asia]

Indra Acharja writes: “A new phase in the conservation and recovery of white-bellied heron (WBH), Ardea insignis, has begun in Bhutan with the establishment of the first pair of ex-situ breeding birds. In April 2021, researchers at the Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN) collected a pair of pre-fledged juveniles from a wild nest and transferred them to the newly constructed Conservation Center in south…” Continue reading Conservation of white-bellied herons [South Asia]

Rewilding Successes