A herd of 24 Retuerta horses, coming from the Doñana biological station in southern Spain, were released in the Campanarios de Azaba reserve on July 27. The release was possible thanks to the Rewilding Europe initiative and the collaboration between the Nature and Man Foundation and the Doñana Biological Station.
Bornholm island in Denmark welcomed seven bison from Poland in the beginning of June. One male and six females where brought to the island by ferry. The animals will live in a 200 ha fence for five years, then a decision is made whether to let them roam freely.
Rewilding Europe was featured in a leading Swedish popular science magazine “Forskning och Framsteg”.
The acclaimed outdoor exhibition “Wild Wonders of Europe” showcases Europe’s natural heritage in a breathtaking display of life-size images by 69 of the continent’s top photographers.
To meet the challenges and opportunities, we have extended our central team with a number of key positions, most of them to assist at the operational level and to support the rewilding projects.
Rewilding Europe has signed a production agreement to develop a major film and a TV-series, with EMS Films (Netherlands) and Gebrüder Beetz Filmproduktion (Germany). The aim is to showcase and document the rewilding of our continent, which is happening in front of our eyes, and the role that Rewilding Europe plays in creating more wild areas, wilderness and promoting Europe as a wildlife destination.
One of the programme goals of Rewilding Europe is “by 2020, rewild 1 million ha (10,000 km²) across 10 places in Europe covering different regions and biomes, including areas of both land and sea”. The rewilding concept was introduced at the “EC Presidency Conference on Wilderness and Large Natural Habitat Areas” in May 2009, and the participants were invited to submit nominations for potential model areas.
After more than 190 years the beaver is back in the Danube Delta. Rangers of the Biosphere Reserve found the first beaver lodge upstream Tulcea in January 2012. Two dead beavers were found already in 2011 in the central parts of the delta. The closest permanent population is found in the Ialomita River, originating from animals reintroduced from Germany to the Brasov region in 1989.
Suitable landscape and socio-economic features for rewilding and protection of already existing wilderness values in Southern Carpathians were analysed in January and February by a team of Romanian and international experts, including representatives from all protected areas that will be affected. This will help the future development of the area with core sites, transition and buffer zones as well as adequate management regimes. It will also serve as the starting point for a wider “wilderness strategy” for the whole region from Brasov in the east to the Danube River in the west.
With official start in January 2012, the Velebit rewilding area is now up and running, seeking opportunities to significantly enhance the local chamois population. All three parks in the area – Northern Velebit National Park, Paklenica National Park, and Velebit Nature Park – see this as a priority. Suitable source populations for restocking exist in various parts of the Balkans (e.g. Montenegro, Serbia, and Bulgaria).