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Rewilding Scotland


Reintroduction of native species to Scotland  

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Currently there are beavers living wild around some areas of Scotland. There are some on the Tay which have been illeagally released or escaped from private collections. Their fate will be decided when the Beaver trial in Knapdale, Argyll, is finished.

I think we should bring back the Lynx with a view for later bringing back wolves. These animals would control deer numbers and restore the natural habitat. Deer currently have no natural predators and so are overgrazing the land and destroying precious habitats such as the ancient Caledonian Pine Forests. This has been seen in Yellowstone National Park where the wolves totally transformed the landscape when they were reintroduced and began to prey on the caribou. Lynx and/or wolves would bring deer numbers down in Scotland and drive them to the uplands and out of the valleys. These animals would also be excellent for Scottish wildlife tourism and potentially boost the economy in that sense.

I don't think bringing back bears would be a good idea as I think the threat they pose to humans is too high.

What do you think?

Edited by jamamafegan
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I'd rather we shot all the Greys and ate them.

Racist. Whichever species is best equipped should prosper, outside those that we bumped off the island and need to reintroduce. Red squirrels are quite literally the gingers of the animal kingdom. No one likes them: they will not reproduce.

Edited by vikingTON
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Currently there are beavers living wild around some areas of Scotland. There are some on the Tay which have been illeagally released or escaped from private collections. Their fate will be decided when the Beaver trial in Knapdale, Ayrshire, is finished.

I think we should bring back the Lynx with a view for later bringing back wolves. These animals would control deer numbers and restore the natural habitat. Deer currently have no natural predators and so are overgrazing the land and destroying precious habitats such as the ancient Caledonian Pine Forests. This has been seen in Yellowstone National Park where the wolves totally transformed the landscape when they were reintroduced and began to prey on the caribou. Lynx and/or wolves would bring deer numbers down in Scotland and drive them to the uplands and out of the valleys. These animals would also be excellent for Scottish wildlife tourism and potentially boost the economy in that sense.

I don't think bringing back bears would be a good idea as I think the threat they pose to humans is too high.

What do you think?

Knapdale is in Ayrshire now, is it? When did they move the Argyll county boundaries?

Anyway, f**k the beavers. When they arrived, they built dams and flooded the path around Loch Coille-Bharr. We practically had to swim to complete our Sunday walk.

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No problem if they're native species that have previously been extirpated one way or the other. The re-introductions of Red Kites and White-tailed Eagles have been a success, so why not these other species which after all are part of our fauna?

Some non-native species don't rock the boat with our ecosystem, the likes of Canada Geese and Little Owls haven't caused any problems, and some have been here so long we don't realise they're non-native - the Romans introduced pheasants to the UK for instance.

There have been a few f**k-ups though, with the aforementioned Grey Squirrels, mink and the Ring-Necked Parakeets which are turning into a real pest in SE England - descended from escapes, the smart money was on the first hard winter we had killing them off until they realised they got by quite happily in the foothills of the Himalayas...

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I voted for beavers and lynx. Pretty sure I saw evidence of beavers (lolz) around Grandtully when I was canoeing down the Tay last autumn, always meant to look into it properly to see if they were known to be there. I have no idea what impact they'd have on their surroundings but they're cool wee guys so they can stay.

The deer are a problem so I'm all for the reintroduction of lynx, probably a nay to wolves and bears though as I like a bit of wild camping and have become accustomed to being top of the food chain.

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No problem if they're native species that have previously been extirpated one way or the other. The re-introductions of Red Kites and White-tailed Eagles have been a success, so why not these other species which after all are part of our fauna?

Agreed. For me it's a no brainer. The ecological and economical benefits would be very rewarding. People would flock to Scotland to try and catch a glimpse of these creatures.

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