Tolerance for wolves

February 16 2010

This e-mail just in from a colleague which I agreed to pass on.

"Following the 2008 Wild, Free and Coming Back? conference (Nov 08) there was a lot of interest in taking positive steps to promote predator reintroduction in the UK. One very practical way in which this can be done is to support the Wolves and Humans Foundation's 'White Dog Fund'. Their aim is to reduce human-predator conflicts in places such as Slovakia by providing practical assistance (eg guarding dogs) to farmers experiencing conflicts with predators, which in turn fosters tolerance.

www.wolvesandhumans.org/how_to_help_pages/white_dog_fund.html

By contributing to the fund you can also demonstrate that the UK public are willing to share the responsibility for living with predators such as the lynx and wolf if they are reintroduced, and so create a stronger case for their return. Please pass the link on to anyone who may be interested.

Scotland Outdoors

December 15 2009

The latest edition of Scotland Outdoors Magazine (www.scotoutdoors.com) features my 'ECOVIEW' on the potential restoration of lynx to Scotland. This is a topic I've covered several times before for different publications, but it does seem to raise eyebrows -and a few hackles - judging from e-mail requests for the full article. Good job it's not controversial then!!

If you'd like a pdf of the full article, please mail me. Better still, buy the magazine!

The Return

November 10 2009

Following the snappily titled 'Wild, Free and Coming Back?' conference last September in Forres, the Wild Media Foundation was commissioned to produce a short film on the potential for restoring large predators to Britain. The hi-res dvd version is available from Trees for Life (www.treesforlife.org.uk) but the web version can be seen here:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Tooth-Claw/87152519760

Simon Barnes on lynx...

October 12 2009

'Reintroductions are difficult and complex logistically, but they can be done. It’s the people side that is the difficult matter. So let’s try to be calm about lynxes. They are not big like lions and tigers; they can get above 4ft in length, and get close to 2ft 6in at the shoulder. Compact, powerful, effective, but not a threat to people.'

Simon Barnes (from a recent newspaper column)

An eventful week.

August 30 2009

Firstly I must congratulate the organisers of the birdfair at Rutland and thank all those I bumped into for making this a very enjoyable event. I'd also thank those who commented favourably on this embryonic blog and especially the 'Swavesey Crew' who suggested it should be re-named "Pete's Ranty Page", presumably in anticipation of future postings? I'll do my best.
And so to Finland for an appointment with fishing ospreys. But before I post a few of the results, I'd like to relate a once-in-a-lifetime event. I travelled with colleagues Mark Sisson and Danny Green (there needed to be witnesses to this story) and whilst sipping tea and addressing the woes of the world one evening, an unfamiliar shape appeared on the track in front of us. Falling silent we tried to avoid the temptation to conclude that 30 metres away, stood a wild lynx. But there was no escaping the fact that one of Europe's most elusive predators had sauntered past us without a care in the world.
The image below is a captive animal to give this post context but the real thing is damned impressive. Given that we were sat in the car park of a fish farm and that the lynx headed off over the crazy golf course, any notion of these animals needing wilderness, was quickly dispelled.