Large Predators Thriving on Mainland Europe

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  • the ocelotthe ocelot Posts: 388
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    stoatie wrote: »
    I would love to have bears and wolves back.

    Me too, although it might not bode well for stoats.
  • DiabolusDiabolus Posts: 1,012
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    the ocelot wrote: »
    Me too, although it might not bode well for stoats.

    Or ocelots. :(
  • Diamond statDiamond stat Posts: 1,473
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    Should reintroduce the european lion to the wild that the romans wiped out.
  • bluebladeblueblade Posts: 88,859
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    I thought this was a good story, especially after the recent one about the rhino:



    http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/18/brown-bears-wolves-and-lynx-numbers-rising-in-europe

    It shows what can be achieved with the right management and the right attitude.

    It also shows a positive side to the seemingly endless EU legislation:



    Would you want wolves and bears reintroduced to the UK? I suspect England is much too overcrowded now but wolves, bears and lynx could easily live in parts of Scotland and perhaps Wales with no problems at all.

    No, bears especially are potentially very dangerous animals, and hikers could easily come up aganst them, with nasty consequences. Lynx, possibly.

    Bad idea, assuming you mean that they live freely in the wild..
  • the ocelotthe ocelot Posts: 388
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    Diabolus wrote: »
    Or ocelots. :(

    I would love those here but they'd probably fare worse than stoats. I believe stoats can actually change their colour to camouflage at different times of the year.

    I think a more appropriate predator to reintroduce to Britain would be the wolverine. They're small but powerful and versatile enough to hunt much bigger animals such as deer whilst not normally preying on humans. They'd be good for pest control too.
  • Keyser_Soze1Keyser_Soze1 Posts: 25,182
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    Sod all these tiddly little mammals.

    Let's bring back the non-avian theropods.

    A Utahraptor waiting for you at the bus stop or Tyrannosaur/Carcharadontosaurid lurking in the back garden would do everyone the world of good.

    A good fright reinvigorates the system! :D
  • SteganStegan Posts: 5,039
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    I would like to see larger predators introduced back into the UK if it can be managed properly. I'm often quite envious of other countries that have larger predators in abundance. The nearest we get to it is with small wild cats and foxes!

    Good to hear that the predator population is thriving in other parts of Europe though.
  • Diamond statDiamond stat Posts: 1,473
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    Were then any big predators that were lost from the british isles in the last 3000 years?
  • ElectraElectra Posts: 55,660
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    Were then any big predators that were lost from the british isles in the last 3000 years?

    Apart from Lynx, Wolves & Bears? Lions, I think.

    Actually, ignore that. It appears the lions went extinct here 12,000 years ago. The other three have all been AD though.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_extinct_animals_of_the_British_Isles
  • KapellmeisterKapellmeister Posts: 41,322
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    Electra wrote: »
    Apart from Lynx, Wolves & Bears? Lions, I think.

    Actually, ignore that. It appears the lions went extinct here 12,000 years ago. The other three have all been AD though.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_extinct_animals_of_the_British_Isles

    I wish we could bring the Great Auk back. It only went extinct in 1844.

    From Wiki:
    The last pair, found incubating an egg, was killed there on 3 July 1844, on request from a merchant who wanted specimens, with Jón Brandsson and Sigurður Ísleifsson strangling the adults and Ketill Ketilsson smashing the egg with his boot. Great auk specialist John Wolley interviewed the two men who killed the last birds, and Ísleifsson described the act as follows:

    The rocks were covered with blackbirds [referring to Guillemots] and there were the Geirfugles ... They walked slowly. Jón Brandsson crept up with his arms open. The bird that Jón got went into a corner but was going to the edge of the cliff. I caught it close to the edge – a precipice many fathoms deep. The black birds were flying off. I took him by the neck and he flapped his wings. He made no cry. I strangled him.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_auk#Preserved_specimens

    :cry:
  • Diamond statDiamond stat Posts: 1,473
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    Electra wrote: »
    Apart from Lynx, Wolves & Bears? Lions, I think.

    Actually, ignore that. It appears the lions went extinct here 12,000 years ago. The other three have all been AD though.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_extinct_animals_of_the_British_Isles

    Bears could be reintroduced but my feeling is it would be a PC nightmare.
  • ElectraElectra Posts: 55,660
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    Bears could be reintroduced but my feeling is it would be a PC nightmare.

    I have no idea why you think it has anything to do with PC. :confused: It would be a matter of public safety.
  • Diamond statDiamond stat Posts: 1,473
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    :confused:

    There are bears in public forests in europe and people just have to aware of it and use common sense whether visiting the forest in question is worth the risk.

    In the UK, as I said, I can't imagine a public forest with bears wondering around due to our PC nature here. Just the way we have developed sadly.
  • O'NeillO'Neill Posts: 8,721
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    I doubt any of the large predators will ever be reintroduced here, at least they are doing well in other parts of Europe though.
  • KapellmeisterKapellmeister Posts: 41,322
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    :confused:

    There are bears in public forests in europe and people just have to aware of it and use common sense whether visiting the forest in question is worth the risk.

    In the UK, as I said, I can't imagine a public forest with bears wondering around due to our PC nature here. Just the way we have developed sadly.

    My sister and brother-in-law visited Yellowstone last year, which has black bears and grizzly bears, and did some trail-walking without any problems. They even saw a black bear with a cub and just kept a wide berth of it. I can imagine people getting hysterical if bears were loose in our National Parks in the UK!
  • Chris MarkChris Mark Posts: 4,897
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    I would love to have these animals reintroduced but the opposition would simply be too great.

    Although I doubt we would see them a slaughtered as soon as they re-appeared like has happened in the US recently (wolves for example) with all the Bubba rednecks just itching for any excuse to murder any living creature that moves.

    I would post links but it is far too depressing.

    Perhaps, the British call themselves a nation of animal lovers, but is that only when the animals are either cute and fluffy or aesthetically pleasing?
  • O'NeillO'Neill Posts: 8,721
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    Chris Mark wrote: »
    Perhaps, the British call themselves a nation of animal lovers, but is that only when the animals are either cute and fluffy or aesthetically pleasing?

    I agree. Reintroduction of Wolves, Lynxes etc.. would give the tabloids easy horror stories and scaremongering also, rather than focusing on spiders, foxes, badgers etc.. every six months.
  • CSJBCSJB Posts: 6,188
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    Electra wrote: »
    I have no idea why you think it has anything to do with PC. :confused: It would be a matter of public safety.

    We like to lecture the world on animal perseveration, but won't have any carnivorous animals larger than a fox in our lands.
    Even gentle beavers caused an uproar when reintroduced, we are a nation of hypocrites.
    Do as we say, not as we do.
    BanglaRoad wrote: »
    Hope Farage never reads this thread. Would be UKIP policy to introduce bears to Bradford and East London!

    Unbelievable.
    A thread about European animals and you are posting about Farage.
    You are completely obsessed. :D
  • dee123dee123 Posts: 46,193
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    Vladimir Putin, for instance...

    It's funny 'cause it's true.
  • Keyser_Soze1Keyser_Soze1 Posts: 25,182
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    CSJB wrote: »
    We like to lecture the world on animal perseveration, but won't have any carnivorous animals larger than a fox in our lands.
    Even gentle beavers caused an uproar when reintroduced, we are a nation of hypocrites.
    Do as we say, not as we do.



    Unbelievable.
    A thread about European animals and you are posting about Farage.
    You are completely obsessed. :D

    This is correct and an example of total hypocrisy.

    One fox bite and the red rag press goes literally insane.

    FFS a few small harmless spiders go walkabout in the breeding season every year and you would think that aliens had invaded the country,
  • TelevisionUserTelevisionUser Posts: 41,395
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    Large Predators Thriving on Mainland Europe

    This is excellent news and I want lynxes reintroduced here - now!

    I look forward to the headlines in two centuries' time:

    Large Predators Thriving on Delta Pavonis III
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