Could we soon be hearing howls in the Highlands, grunts in the Glens and see the reintroduction of lynx in the Lochs?
Conservationists are currently looking into the reintroduction of wolves, boars and big cats into the wilds of Scotland. They've already successfully reintroduced white-tailed sea eagles and red kites and they are shortly hoping to reintroduce beavers to Argyle.
The reintroduction of previously extinct species in other European countries has helped the eco-system as well as providing economic benefits from an influx of interested tourists, so us Brits are joining the band wagon albeit somewhat cautiously.
Currently, the aim is to re-establish 900 square miles of the Caledonian Forest and then introduce the mammals to maintain the eco-system. I suspect many us wonder if these animals are going to pose any danger to humans or indeed to domestic animals who might fancy a wander in the wilderness but, as a spokesman for Trees for Life says, we face life threatening events every day - as the saying goes, we could be run over by a bus tomorrow and besides which, at the Alladale estate in Scotland elk and wild boar have already been introduced and live in harmony with the rest of the wildlife (including humans!). The owner of the estate is now wanting to expand and introduce lynx, wolves and bears.
It may also be a little known fact that boar are already living alongside humans in southern England since they escaped from captivity during the hurricane in the late 1980s.
By way of background history, it seems that wolves were last recorded in Britain (the Scottish Highlands) as long ago as the mid 18th century. This followed centuries of persecution. The wild boar likewise was hunted to extinction in the 17th century. They created much "sport" amongst the higher orders as they were extremely ferocious and had considerable stamina which all added to the attraction. And, as history would have us believe, Henry VIII who was known to be a great huntsman was badly gored by a wild boar. The boar has excellent hearing and an extraordinary sense of smell which enables it to sense the huntsman from some considerable distance so it's able to hide, thus providing a real challenge for the huntsman.
The lynx was thought to have died out in the United Kingdom some 4,000 years ago but recent archaeological evidence shows us that it probably became extinct during Mediaeval times - around 1,500 years ago. One wonders whether it's good policy to reintroduce an animal that has been extinct from our shores for such a lengthy period but where it's been reintroduced elsewhere in Europe it's been shown that it tends to avoid livestock but exists mainly on a diet of young deer and foxes. Over here, particularly in Scotland, deer are devastating our forests and the lynx would provide a natural source of culling. Likewise, with fox hunting now banned here, the lynx would keep the numbers in check thus potentially helping livestock farmers.
I suspect the reintroduction of extinct species will be a matter of grave debate for some considerable time - and with all the red tape, rules and regulations, I suspect this time will amount to years rather than months!
