Author Topic: Rewilding Britain  (Read 6815 times)

Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Re: Rewilding Britain
« Reply #15 on: 13:54:42, 23/05/19 »
I am not being political, just pointing out the fact that however well meaning we are here in the Uk, there are far more powerful nations, that are emitting vast amounts of CO2, and due to their growing economies have no plans to change their way.

India and China are developing brand new fossil fuelled power stations, using coal to power them, here in the Uk, we thankfully turned our backs on that heavily polluting way of producing energy.

We can all get heated and dismayed about comments pointing out the almost futile attempts made by small economies.

Until America, China and India change their ways, global warming will continue at its alarming rate.

barewirewalker

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Re: Rewilding Britain
« Reply #16 on: 14:18:58, 23/05/19 »
Yes - back to rewilding.  How about some more exotic fauna as well as flora?
High on the list would be wolves, to replace the wild deer in walled estates, once homes for a decrepit aristocracy and now if not owned by Russian oligarchs, funded by their laundered money.
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Owen

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Re: Rewilding Britain
« Reply #17 on: 14:44:04, 23/05/19 »
What walled estates? There are none north of the border that I know of. There are estates owned by Swiss, Dutch and English people plus a few owned by pension funds. One is owned by Saudi prince. None have a wall.

ninthace

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Re: Rewilding Britain
« Reply #18 on: 14:47:02, 23/05/19 »
They've made a start with Woburn and Longleat!  :)
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Jac

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Re: Rewilding Britain
« Reply #19 on: 15:51:10, 23/05/19 »

Rewilding is controversial even between the members/officers of wildlife trusts. Some favour a hands off let nature take it's course approach whilst others promote a managed approach mainly, as I understand it, to achieve a greater biodiversity in a particular area. One reason given by the DWT land manager at a recent talk was that 'all our woodland including that considered ancient has at some time been managed so we need to continue to do so'
Personally, I don't think nature worries about biodiversity it's every species for itself in the struggle to get to climax vegetation - usually woodland, at least at lower altitudes - and the fauna associated it.
Naturally some environments would only exist in small areas - particularly lowland heath which if left would quickly become woodland with small open patches.  It's humans who have kept larger areas free of woodland by grazing and other agricultural activities since the disappearance (humans again?) of large free roaming herds of  deer/aurochs etc.
Unless we reintroduce apex predators - lynx, wolf, bear - and others such as boar and beaver it cannot be considered genuinely rewilded to a condition similar to pre-human intervention.
A really nice idea but obviously only practical where large areas of land are involved, though in the case of beavers they are now living wild in several areas (eight families currently in the R Otter catchment).

Rewilding or not? I suspect that more important is to reduce the usage of pesticides and herbicides in agriculture.

when you look at that beautiful field of wheat rippling in the wind remember it has been treated with snail and slug killer and who knows what else - listen for the song thrush - can you hear it? Probably not. After all there is nothing for it to eat in that 40+ acres even if the scraggy hedges could support a nest.


Sorry if that is perhaps a trifle political or slightly off topic but I think we do need to look at the bigger picture

 

« Last Edit: 15:54:44, 23/05/19 by Jac »
So many paths yet to walk, so little time left

Owen

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Re: Rewilding Britain
« Reply #20 on: 17:09:44, 23/05/19 »


Unless we reintroduce apex predators - lynx, wolf, bear - and others such as boar and beaver it cannot be considered genuinely rewilded to a condition similar to pre-human intervention.



But when was that? There were people of various type here before the last glacial period. Once the ice started melting trees started growing and animals wander back including the people. Before the ice ages the world was a very different place. So it's very much a question of which "wild" are we looking at?

Bigfoot_Mike

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Re: Rewilding Britain
« Reply #21 on: 18:53:49, 23/05/19 »
There are plenty of beavers on the Tay. There also still seem to be quite a few song thrushes in rural Aberdeenshire. Most of the farming here is pasture for sheep and cattle, with some barley, oilseed rape and neeps.

Bigfoot_Mike

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Re: Rewilding Britain
« Reply #22 on: 21:28:21, 23/05/19 »
The garden is suitably wild, as a small roe deer has just visited. It can’t have been more than 2.5 feet to the top of its back. The deer we had last week were much bigger.

richardh1905

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Re: Rewilding Britain
« Reply #23 on: 08:36:26, 24/05/19 »
The alternative to the introduction of apex predators such as wolves in the Highlands is aggressive deer culling - it certainly seems to be working on the Glen Feshie estate; the regeneration of the Caledonian Forest there is remarkable.
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Mel

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Re: Rewilding Britain
« Reply #24 on: 22:03:19, 25/05/19 »

I bet you don't have flying snails though ...


Do tell......................  :)




Sorry Jac, missed this.  I was sat quietly in my garden once.  I could hear my next door neighbour gardening on t'other side o' fence.  Suddenly, thud, a snail flew over the fence and landed on the grass next to me.  Needless to say, it flew back over the fence!  :D


To be honest, I don't mind snails and slugs... they eat the dockleaves and get nice and fat for the hedgehog  O0

Jac

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Re: Rewilding Britain
« Reply #25 on: 07:19:25, 26/05/19 »
Sorry Jac, missed this.  I was sat quietly in my garden once.  I could hear my next door neighbour gardening on t'other side o' fence.  Suddenly, thud, a snail flew over the fence and landed on the grass next to me.  Needless to say, it flew back over the fence!  :D

To be honest, I don't mind snails and slugs... they eat the dockleaves and get nice and fat for the hedgehog  O0

;D better than the neighbour using slug pellets
So many paths yet to walk, so little time left

ninthace

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Re: Rewilding Britain
« Reply #26 on: 07:39:32, 26/05/19 »
;D better than the neighbour using slug pellets
Trouble is in my garden the hedgehogs and thrushes are not keeping up their end of the bargain.
Solvitur Ambulando

EnglishHiker

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Re: Rewilding Britain
« Reply #27 on: 19:38:43, 28/10/19 »
Unless we reintroduce apex predators - lynx, wolf, bear - and others such as boar and beaver it cannot be considered genuinely rewilded to a condition similar to pre-human intervention.


I can't imagine the likes of wolves and bears being re-introduced. Look at the trouble people have with foxes coming into their back gardens. Can you imagine if that becomes a wolf or a bear? :D
Also, I'm not sure how much longer I'd be hiking for if a chance encounter with a bear was on the cards!
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ninthace

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Re: Rewilding Britain
« Reply #28 on: 21:07:20, 28/10/19 »

I can't imagine the likes of wolves and bears being re-introduced. Look at the trouble people have with foxes coming into their back gardens. Can you imagine if that becomes a wolf or a bear? :D
Also, I'm not sure how much longer I'd be hiking for if a chance encounter with a bear was on the cards!
We had a fair bit of wild life in the Pyrenees including bears.  It was not an issue.  Wild life tends to hear you coming and make itself scarce. We did have a bear help itself to a local hive one night but the only animal that was a concern to walkers was wild boar, of which we had hundreds.  They did a lot a damage to local fields too but in return they were delicious.
Solvitur Ambulando

EnglishHiker

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Re: Rewilding Britain
« Reply #29 on: 22:08:22, 28/10/19 »

I never even thought of the Pyrenees. My mind went straight to the US!

They did a lot a damage to local fields too but in return they were delicious.
;D

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