Europe is about twice as densely populated and half the size of the
United States, yet its wolves and other carnivores are thriving, even in
non-protected areas where humans dwell.
by John
Tyburski
Copyright © Daily
Digest News, KPR Media, LLC. All rights reserved.
Europeans
seem to have figured out how to coexist with carnivores in their midst. So
suggests a new study published on Thursday in Science
Magazine. Despite a much more dense human population on half the land mass
of the lower 48 United States, Europe’s carnivore populations are expanding.
The
conservation success has been attributed to cooperation among European nations,
tight regulations, and a positive public consensus on the importance of
wildlife coexisting with humanity. The European attitude is that room can be
made for large carnivores as opposed to driving them out of habitat to
extinction.
Leader of
the study Guillaume Chapron, professor at the Swedish University of
Agricultural Sciences’ Grimso Wildlife Research Station said, “”We don’t have
unspoiled, untouched areas.”
“But what
is interesting is, that does not mean we do not have carnivores,” explained
Chapron in an interview. “Au contraire; we have many carnivores.”
Chapron
and colleagues reported that the numbers for several predator species are
looking good. Brown bears, Eurasian Lynx, wolverines, and gray wolves are all
rebounding after suffering in the past. Approximately 17,000 brown bears
comprise 10 distinct populations across 22 countries; 9,000 lynx exist in 11
populations over 23 countries; over 12,000 wolves in 10 populations cover 28
countries.
The cooler
regions of Scandinavia are home to an estimated 1,250 wolverines as well as all
of the other three large carnivores. Only Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands,
and Luxembourg lack at least one permanent, reproducing population of at least
one of the four predators.
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