The Taurus Foundation, dedicated to creating a substitute for the extinct aurochs that is best able to thrive in contemporary natural grazing schemes and wild landscapes, has become the latest organisation to join the European Rewilding Network. Julia Mata, the European Rewilding Network Coordinator, celebrated the news, saying, “This certification is long overdue. The Taurus foundation has been doing amazing work on the Tauros Programme, and we are very happy to welcome them into the European Rewilding Network.”  

In the Iberian Highlands rewilding landscape in Spain, the local rewilding team are working to reintroduce wild and semi-wild herbivores. By enhancing natural grazing, this is increasing biodiversity, reducing wildfire risk, and helping to regenerate natural forest.

Today, global warming is increasingly affecting people and nature across the world. Rewilding is a great way of enhancing the climate change resilience of landscapes and communities.

A new grant from the Cartier for Nature foundation will support rewilding in both the Southern Carpathians and Iberian Highlands, with a primary focus on the reintroduction of free-roaming herbivores.

Spanish readers can now learn all about the aurochs and the programme to bring back this European icon. The newest translation of the book – “The Aurochs – Born to be Wild” – provides context for rewilding efforts in Spain, which are set to boost natural grazing with wild and semi-wild herbivores such as the Tauros.

The Tour du Valat Estate in the Camargue region in southern France is demonstrating how wetlands can be rewilded for the benefit of nature and people. Membership of the European Rewilding Network will enhance the estate’s rewilding efforts.

Bulgaria’s Rewilding Rhodopes team were overjoyed to record the births of four bison calves in May and June this year – the highest number of calves to have been born in a single season since bison were reintroduced to Bulgaria’s Rhodope Mountains in 2019.

A newly established rewilding site in northern Portugal, known as Ermo das Águias (‘wilderness of the eagles’), is providing an opportunity to improve landscape connectivity and promote the regeneration of native vegetation and enhance the benefits of natural grazing.

Large mammals (megafauna) have crucial roles in ecosystems. Megafauna restoration is therefore a key element of rewilding. A new study finds that restoring Europe’s megafauna as much as possible is in fact a legal (and moral) obligation.

Natural grazing by wild and semi-wild herbivores provides a wide range of benefits to both nature and people. A training session held in March will support its scaling up in Rewilding Europe’s operational landscapes.