Last week, a male lynx – nicknamed ‘Ljubo’ – was released into the Velebit Mountains Rewilding landscape. Ljubo is the fifth lynx to be released in Croatia as part of the European LIFE Lynx project.

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.

Animals influence the carbon cycle in myriad ways. By enabling wildlife populations to recover in both number and diversity, rewilding could significantly reduce atmospheric carbon and move us beyond net zero.

Rewilding Capercaillie is Croatia’s only licensed breeding enterprise for capercaillie, a rare and strictly protected bird of mountainous woodland regions, and the largest member of the grouse family. For almost ten years they have been working to reinforce their diminishing population through captive breeding.

A collaboration with the Zoological Society of London saw multiple camera traps deployed in the Velebit Mountains and Rhodope Mountains rewilding areas this summer. The information collected should enhance the ongoing rewilding of both areas.

The European rewilding movement has come a long way since Rewilding Europe was founded in 2011. A series of features will examine how the impact of rewilding has grown over the last decade, starting with a look at European bison.

A new calf has just been born to the free-roaming bison herd in the Rhodope Mountains rewilding area in Bulgaria. This shows the animals are settling in well and advances the local rewilding process.

Griffon vultures continue to do well in the Rhodope Mountains rewilding area in Bulgaria, with 72 chicks born this year. This is good news for wild nature and people and a well-earned reward for the local rewilding team.

The elk is expanding its range westward in Poland, with individuals now crossing the border into Germany on a regular basis. In an increasingly wild Oder Delta, the local rewilding team is laying the groundwork for the comeback of this impressive species.