Wilderness typical of the Iberian plateau.
A recent study reveals how brown bears, wolves and lynx numbers are rising in Europe. The study, published in the journal Science, shows how a land-sharing model of conservation is helping large predators to thrive in the wild in Europe – with even the relatively modest British countryside shown to be capable of supporting big carnivores just as well as the large tracts of free and open wilderness on mainland Europe.
The most abundant large carnivore in Europe is the Eurasian brown bear (Ursus arctos) numbering about 17,000 individuals. This is followed by the Eurasian grey wolf (Canis lupus lupus) which numbers 12,000, the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) numbering 9,000 individuals, and the wolverine (Gulo gulo), of which there are known to be only 1,250 individuals, having a markedly limited distribution that is confined to northern territories of Scandinavia and Finland. Spain boasts three of these impressive carnivores except the wolverine; quite remarkable when one considers that Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Britain have no known breeding populations of at least one large carnivore species – in other words: extinct in these countries.
With regard to the brown bear, two geographically distinct populations exist in Spain: the Cantabrian and the Pyrenean. The Cantabrian population lives in a mountainous region of the provinces of Asturias and Cantabria in northern Spain. Both the Pyrenean and the Cantabrian brown bear populations survive in an ecologically and genetically precarious situation. In the case of both the Cantabrian and Pyrenean populations, there exists a further two geographically distinct subpopulations, the western Cantabrian subpopulation which numbers approximately 200 bears, and the eastern Cantabrian subpopulation which numbers approximately 30 bears; and in the Pyrenees, the western Pyrenees subpopulation numbering just 2 bears, and the central Pyrenees subpopulation numbering 25 bears. In Cantabria, the two subpopulations are separated by a distance of only 60 kilometres, but for some reason, they do not or are unable to interact.
A Cantabrian brown bear spotted in the Picos de Europa National Park, northern Spain.
However, it is the Cantabrian brown bear that is considered to be very special in Spain because it has been argued to be a genetically distinct species to that of the Pyrenean population, i.e. the European brown bear. It is estimated that there are about only 230 Cantabrian brown bears in the wild. The problem with having two separate, non-interactive populations is that of genetic diversity, especially when the numbers in the two subpopulations are so critically low, and especially more so in the eastern subpopulation which numbers just 30 bears. Thus genetics, and ultimately, the survival of the species and the dire need for its conservation becomes an important issue. Nevertheless, the main organisation in charge of safeguarding and ensuring an effective conservation plan for the brown bear, or “Oso pardo” as it is known in Spain, has made huge progress in recent years. The Brown Bear Foundation says that population studies suggest that the western subpopulation has increased from 100 bears in 2008 to 200 bears in 2014, while the eastern subpopulation does not appear to have experienced any changes in numbers.
A more polemic and wrongly vilified carnivore making a comeback in Spain is the wolf. I love wolves, if but for their cunningness, perseverance, stamina, intelligence and highly sociable nature; after all, dogs are direct descendants of wolves. The wolf, in my opinion, is one of the greatest pack predators of all and has a demonstrable ability to rise to any challenge, even the challenge of recuperation after it was once at one point free falling into extinction on the Iberian peninsula.
A pack of Iberian wolves.
The Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus) is a subspecies of the European grey wolf, inhabiting the upland plains and mountains of northwestern Spain and northern Portugal. It was once prevalent throughout almost all of the Iberian peninsula until about the 1900s. It suffered continuous persecution as it was always considered to be a pest. However, in the 1950s and 1960s, the dictatorship of Francisco Franco embarked on a concerted extermination campaign, which fortunately, ultimately failed in its objective since a small but resilient population managed to resist the efforts against it, seeking refuge in the mountainous northwestern region of the country in the Picos de Europa National Park where there now exists a healthy and growing population. There are also reports of wolves returning to Navarre and the Basque Country in the north near the Pyrenees, and also in central regions of the country in the provinces of Badajoz, Cáceres, Madrid and Guadalajara.
Interestingly, in researching this article, I read that there exists a clear correlation between the extent to which an animal flourishes in its native habitat and times of economic and political crisis. In the wolf’s case, this couldn’t be more true. As mass depopulation of the countryside and rural migration towards urban areas ensue, pressures that were once placed upon wolves in populated rural environments are significantly curtailed, or in some cases, cease to exist, thus allowing wolves to roam freely and unchecked through now sparsely populated countryside. I have travelled extensively throughout Spain and have seen firsthand how many villages and hamlets have been simply abandoned in their entirety. This could be one of the many impetuses of the wolf and other animals for recuperating their numbers through reoccupying now abandoned land, apart from of course, the beneficial effects of conservation efforts, legislation, etc.
In western Europe in recent times, wolves have been making a noticeable comeback, repopulating areas where they have not been seen for over a hundred years. Wolves are expanding their range in Poland, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia and France, with recent lone sightings in Denmark and Belgium. They have also been spotted within just a few kilometres of capital cities like Athens, Berlin and Rome. Breeding pairs have been established in Poland, Romania, Croatia, Slovakia, Italy, Germany, the Italian and French Alps and the Apennines.
One of the carnivores that has suffered the most and come the closest to extinction in Europe is the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus). It is the most threatened carnivorous mammal in Europe and the most threatened feline in the world. The Iberian lynx, like the brown bears of Spain, is found in just two isolated and highly geographically separate populations: the Doñana National Park in the province of Huelva in southwestern Andalucía, and in the Sierra Morena range in the province of Jaén, in northern Andalucía. Wild populations of Iberian lynx have experienced a constant decline during the past century, with a notably sharp decline of up to 95% in the last 20 years. It is a critically endangered species that is endemic to the Iberian peninsula with fewer than 400 individuals in the wild.
A female Iberian lynx with kittens in the Sierra Morena Natural Park.
A EU LIFE Nature project that includes habitat preservation, lynx population monitoring, and rabbit population management has been set up in an effort to save this specie from certain extinction. One of the difficulties of conservation efforts with the Iberian lynx is that it is a specialist hunter with its preferred prey being rabbits, and that it cannot easily adapt to changes in the availability of its preferred diet should rabbits be difficult to come by. In Spain, recent deadly outbreaks of two virulent diseases, myxomatosis and hemorrhagic disease, resulted in the dramatic decline of wild rabbit populations that directly affected Lynx populations to present day levels.
Although conservation efforts are showing positive results and success, with those individuals successfully bred in captivity being reintroduced into their natural environment, the specie is still in a very precarious state. There is such an inherently high and constant risk to the wild population (where most of the genetic diversity exists) of suffering from a fatal naturally occurring event (bushfire, disease, dramatic drop in rabbit population, etc.) that if this were to occur, the effect would be devastating and could mean the inevitable extinction of the specie.
In Britain, there is an interesting ongoing debate about rewilding. Evidently, for wolves, bears and lynx to repopulate Britain, they would have to be artificially reintroduced using specimens from the European continent. Perhaps one of the ways these animals could be eventually reintroduced into Britain would be to introduce a less conflictive specie such as the lynx, as the lynx would not be perceived as a threat to either humans or livestock. Once mature, lynx are solitary animals and do not live nor hunt in packs. For more information, see:
Rewilding the UK: living in the past or preparing for the future. http://eu.earthwatch.org/events/2014/07/16/rewilding-the-uk-living-in-the-past-or-preparing-for-the-future
Rewilding Britain: bringing wolves, bears and beavers back to the land. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/sep/19/-sp-rewilding-large-species-britain-wolves-bears
Wilderness Foundation United Kingdom: Rewilding. http://www.wildernessfoundation.org.uk/what-we-do/wilderness-action/wild-britain
The Wildlife Trusts: some thoughts on rewilding. http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/rewilding