One man's mission to bring back animals from the past
The Times
1 October 1994
Nick Nuttall
While most conservationists grapple with saving the nation's existing species from the threats of development and pollution, Roy Dennis, one of Britain's leading wildlife experts, is crusading for the restoration of extinct native species some of which were eradicated in the early Christian era.
These include the beaver, the lynx, the wolf, the brown bear and the elk.
At present, the Government's wildlife advisors are identifying British habitats and species of European importance. Under new European wildlife laws, these will be given special status to ensure their protection and survival.
Some zoologists and conservationists, such as Mr Dennis, believe the list should also include the extinct animals.
In the past, ideas of reintroducing these long-gone species have foundered since the wild habitats which supported them, such as the native woodlands and forests, have been decimated by centuries of felling and clearance for fuel, grazing land and development.
But across the country plans are in train to recreate these ancient woodlands, particularly in parts of Scotland such as the Cairngorms and Speyside, and in parts of England including Thetford Forest.
Mr Dennis, formerly with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and one of the key figures behind the reintroduction of the red kite and other birds of prey, believes these habitats can only truly be restored and managed if all the ecological components are in place and these include long-gone species.
"You will not be able to manage these forests with chain saws and wardens," Mr Dennis contends. He believes that reintroducing the beaver, a creature hunted to extinction for its fur and oil in the 16th century, will be an important factor in managing the forests. Beavers coppice willow and dam streams, creating wetlands in which otters and insects like dragonflies thrive.
Red deer, whose population has boomed in recent years and whose numbers are causing damage to woodlands, would also be better managed if a large predator such as the wolf were back in the Highlands, Mr Dennis says.
Supporters of reintroductions also point to the efforts of other European countries, including France, Poland and Germany, where schemes are in place to re-populate wild areas with such animals.
Following a limit on the hunting season, wolf numbers have climbed to 850 in Poland. Wolves have now spread and are protected in the eastern German area of Brandenburgh where they had been previously extinct. Projects in VallÄe d'Spe in the Pyrenees are trying to conserve and increase the last bear populations. Pierre Mollier of the WWF near Paris says the scheme, which is trying to protect the last 10 bears there, still needs to fight hunters' guns and developments including a trans-Pyrenees motorway. However a project, running since the 1970s, to reintroduce the lynx using animals from Hungary in the Vosges area of eastern France, is proving more successful. The project pays local farmers for damage to sheep from lynx predation.
Mr Dennis says European beaver numbers have grown so much that the animals can been seen in the heart of Polish cities. They have also been reintroduced into the Netherlands, so restoring them to Britain would complete their European range.
Whether the cry of the wolf or the soft pad of the lynx will again by heard or glimpsed will depend on whether people like Mr Dennis can persuade the government's statutory wildlife advisors.
Scottish Natural Heritage, the advisors north of the Border, are poised to review the arguments for and against all the extinct species. They are to report their findings to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in Geneva.
Richard Wright, project officer for the European Habitats and Species Directive at English Nature which advises the Department of the Environment south of the border, says they have no formal review of extinct species planned. He also claims that in England, where agriculture is more intensive and urbanisation heavier, the scope for reintroductions is more limited than in Scotland.
Nevertheless, Mr Wright believes there are arguments in favour of bringing back long-gone animals and he expects these will be considered soon. "We need to look and see if it is right and proper to reintroduce species back into England," he says.
A spokesman says that the Forestry Commission, which is helping to mastermind the expansion of native woodlands, is also considering the issue. "The time may come, and this may be soon for some species, when we can get involved in reintroductions. They are the ultimate prize for getting the forests right ecologically," he says.
But Sir Christopher Lever, a member of the reintroduction specialist group of the IUCN, believes that winning over landowners and members of the public may prove to be much tougher than supporters concede.
"Obviously some of the extinct animals, such as wild boar, would be perfectly acceptable. But I think you would find it difficult to get people to back the return of wolves, lynx and bears," he says.
Sir Christopher believes the potential damage caused by wolves is obvious to people, but not the potential damage beavers could cause.
"The main damage could be to timber. There are many trees that they do not cut down but instead ring-bark. Their damming of streams could prove very damaging to agriculture," he says.
Sir Christopher believes that supporters of reintroductions have failed to grasp how difficult it can be to recapture or trap such creatures if they proved to be dangerous or damaging.
Mr Dennis concedes that reintroducing the aurochs, Britain's native wild cattle, is impossible. The animal became extinct about 3,200 years ago when settlers to Britain from southern Europe brought their own domesticated cattle which interbred with the aurochs.
Nevertheless the wildlife expert believes some rare breeds, such as Chillingham cattle, could replicate the aurochs' role and keep open glades if allowed to "go wild".
A compromise might be to bring back the extinct species on an offshore island.
"If some people are determined then maybe an offshore island could be used. Rhum has been suggested. It has a herd of red deer which would provide food for wolves," Sir Christopher says.
But Mr Dennis believes this smacks of outdated thinking. Stocking an island would be little more than creating a glorified, open-air zoo, he claims.
Extinct native species:
Aurochs, wild cattle, thought to have become extinct 3,200 years ago.
Lynx became extinct soon after AD 0.
Brown bear disappeared between the 8th and the 10th centuries.
Elk in the 9th century.
Reindeer in the 12th century although a small, captive herd has been reintroduced to the Cairngorns.
Beaver became extinct in the 16th century.
Wild boar became extinct in the 17th century.
Wolf, last one believed to have been shot in 1743.
