The Wildlife Is Coming Back!

Considering all bad news we receive on a daily basis nowadays, how about some good news from nature, for a change?

Wildlife in Europe is coming back!
Yes you read right.

Definitely not all species and not everywhere.
But in general, wildlife is coming back in Europe, big time.

Mammals and birds that have been mercilessly persecuted, over-hunted, poisoned and almost made extinct from industrial pollutants – they are actually coming back.
Since more than a decade there is a revival of European wildlife, in almost all corners of the continent.

OK, there are still some black spots where primitive stupidity still stands in the way (bird massacres continues in Malta, forest arson in Italy, shooting of iberian lynx in Spain, tuna and cod fisheries...) .
OK, there are systematic problems with EU-funding used to destroy wildlife habitats.

But almost all over Europe things are also changing to the better:

The otter is coming back.
The beaver is coming back.
The lammergeier and the other majestic vultures are coming back.
The sea eagles and the golden eagles and the imperial eagles are too.
And the cranes, and the whooper swans.
And the wolves and the bears and the lynx and even the wolverines.
And the great bustard and the white stork.
And the grey seal and the harbour seal.
And the killer whale and the beluga whale and the minke whale and the humpback whale and the sperm whale.
And even the blue whale.
And the walrus and the european bison.
And the eagle owl, the great grey owl and the ural owl.
And the arctic fox.
And the peregrine falcon.
And the red deer and the wild boar.
And the spoon-billed stork, the grey heron, the cormorant, and the egrets.

And...

The reasons for it vary, and I will talk about that in a later blog.
But it all has to do with a fundamental change in attitude among Europeans today. We are just being a little bit more respectful towards these animals than before, and immediately we are rewarded with their return.
It is all about respect and tolerance.
We are maybe starting to respect our natural heritage just a little bit more than before.

And the effect is already dramatic.
Now what wouldn’t happen if we started respecting that heritage just a little bit more again?
Giving species and ecosystems just a little better chances to do their thing in peace?

And why not start with the ones that are worst off right now?
Who are they?
I will tell you, of course.
But that’s for another week.

Staffan Widstrand