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Seriously threatened species could see Cumbria return
Pine marten. Picture: Frank Greenaway
A seriously threatened species pushed to the brink of extinction could see a return to Cumbria.
The future of pine martens and their possible reintroduction to Grizedale Forest and Rusland woodlands is currently being explored by the Back on our Map (BOOM) project.
A relative of the weasel, numbers declined through persecution and habitat loss and since 1900 have plummeted in England to the point where they are now almost absent.
However, in Scotland, they are faring better and account for 98 per cent of the remaining UK population of around 3,700, according to project lead Dr Mic Mayhew.
Captive wildcats sent to training camp to equip them for life after release
In 2023 the animals will to be set free in the Cairngorms in the first stage of a rewilding programme in Scotland
The cats will be taught how to hunt in the wild before their release
Credit: Alamy
Wildcats are undergoing a kitten training camp , where they are taught to hunt toys ahead of a major rewilding programme due to begin in two years,
The Telegraph can reveal.
Conservationists around the country are pinpointing the best areas to release the “highland tiger”, which was once widespread across the deciduous forests in the UK, but due to hunting and habitat loss has been pushed to the far reaches of Scotland. Numbers of cats there are dwindling to extinction.
Farm leaders react with alarm at fresh bid to re-wild lynx
16 February 2021 |
The prospect of its reintroduction has caused widespread concern from the farming industry
Free range egg producers and sheep farmers have reacted with alarm at the latest bid to re-introduce lynx to parts of the United Kingdom.
A year long study has been launched by a consortium of conservationists to see if the public would support reintroduction, with a view to releasing them within the next five years.
The project is being headed by the Vincent Wildlife Trust, Scotland: The Big Picture, and Trees for Life, and part funded by Danish billionaires Anders Poulson and Lisbet Rausing who own large estates in the Scottish Highlands.
A year-long Lynx to Scotland consultation will assess public and stakeholder attitudes around the idea of lynx reintroduction (Pic: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) NEW EFFORTS to promote the reintroduction of lynx into the Scottish Highlands have been dismissed by both farmers and ScotGov. A new year-long study, ‘Lynx to Scotland,’ is underway by a partnership of charities including Scotland: The Big Picture, Trees for Life and Vincent Wildlife Trust, to assess people’s views about the possible reintroduction of Eurasian lynx as a means to control deer populations. Advocates for their return believe the species deer predation would help regenerate natural woodlands. However, livestock farmers have warned of the devastation this could potentially pose to their flocks.