Photo Gallery Rewilding Europe

Conservationists want to turn parts of Europe back into wilderness, teeming with wild horses, lynxes and native bison. But there are varying interpretations of what "wilderness" means and conflict over how much it should be managed.
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The "Rewilding Project," led by Dutch conservation expert Frans Schepers, aims to recreate the kind of wilderness that has almost disappeared from Europe by reintroducing large grazing animals that populated the Continent long ago: wild horses, European bisons (wisents) and red deer, to be kept in check by lynxes, bears and wolves. A number of conservation organizations, including the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), are involved in the effort.

Foto: Grzegorz Lesniewski/ Wild Wonders of Europe/ Rewilding Europe
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Operators of nature preserves and activists across Europe want to be involved. Six areas have already been selected. They include the Danube delta, the Carpathian Mountains in Romania and the Velebit mountain range in Croatia. The aim is to allow nature to return to its wild state as much as possible in each of these areas.

Foto: DER SPIEGEL
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The Campanarios de Azaba Biological Reserve in western Spain recently became home to 24 Retuerta horses. They used to roam around the Iberian peninsula in large herds, but now there are barely 200 of the horses left today. (Note: the horses shown here are wild horses, not Rutuerta horses.) The animals can no longer count on human assistance. If they get sick, they die. If they can't find food, they starve to death. If they can't outrun the wolves, they are eaten.

Foto: Juan Carlos Muños Robredo/ Rewilding Europe
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It seems to be an opportune time, as some rural areas become increasingly depopulated, and large stretches of land are already virtually abandoned. More than 120,000 square kilometers (46,300 square miles), an area almost as large as Greece, will likely be abandoned throughout Europe in the next few decades, estimates the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP). Rewilding such areas could provide benefits to tourists, residents, hunters and, of course, animals.

Foto: Staffan Widstrand/ Rewilding Europe