ONCE extinct in the wild, some of Europe’s largest grazers are making a comeback thanks to an ambitious programme to reintroduce them.
Four bison were released this month in Maashorst nature reserve in the Netherlands, with four more due to arrive in Veluwe region next month. Another herd is set to roam free in Romania from May. This follows the release of 45 semi-wild konik horses in Croatia and 35 fallow deer in Bulgaria in January.
The controversial efforts even include back-breeding an extinct species of wild cattle, the aurochs. A herd of 20 aurochs lookalikes will be released on Croatia’s Lika plains in May or June.
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Some conservationists believe this could boost biodiversity on the plains, which have experienced reduced grazing as people abandon rural lifestyles and leave huge swathes of land untended.
“Many ecosystems are very degraded,” says , conservation biologist at the University of Oxford. “It’s about reinvigorating landscapes.”
Kick-starting grazing opens up landscapes and encourages other species to return, such as butterflies, lizards and dung beetles. Over time, predators and scavengers such as wolves are attracted, too. “If we care about European biodiversity, we have to reintroduce large grazers,” says of , a Dutch trust behind some of these efforts.
Not everyone is convinced, but the trust is riding a wave of initiatives that are cropping up across the continent. Central in the trust’s own plan to rewild 1 million hectares of land in 10 countries by 2022 are releases of large grazers (see Map).
Back to nature
“In Europe before the agricultural era there were two main grazers – wild cattle and horses,” says Helmer. “Unfortunately, they are now extinct, and we have no natural grazing.”
“This would be the first time the horse is considered wild in Europe in the past 150 to 200 years”
Crucially, the trust will make a case for classifying two herds of released konik horses in Bulgaria as wild. “This would be the first time the horse is considered wild in Europe in the past 150 to 200 years,” says Helmer.
Konik horses were bred in the early 20th century to resemble the tarpan, an extinct wild horse. The trust also works with other breeds that resemble extinct horses, famously depicted in 15,000 to 32,000-year-old cave paintings in places like Altamira.
The challenge is to de-domesticate them so they can survive on their own. Declaring them “wild” would help, as it would mean they wouldn’t need to be tagged or disposed of in an abattoir when they die. Domesticated animals require extra care by law.
It would send a positive signal about successful rewilding, but also raise ethical issues. Dead or sick horses might pose a problem for the public, who could see it as animal cruelty, says Jepson.
Like wild horses, Europe’s wild cattle, the aurochs, were hunted to extinction. The last of these beasts died in Poland in 1627.
But now they are back – sort of. Last October, a herd of tauros – a prototype aurochs – was released into a nature sanctuary north-east of Prague in the Czech Republic by an organisation called . They were bred by the , a joint effort of geneticists from the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands and Dutch cattle breeders.
Since 2008, the team has been cross-breeding primitive cattle that share similarities with the aurochs to create a modern-day equivalent. They are focusing on six breeds with aurochs-like traits, such as long legs, slender build, short hair and forward-pointing horns. Tauros should be able to use these traits to live a wild existence and defend themselves against predators.
But it’s not easy breeding animals that look right, says at the University of Utrecht and an adviser to the programme. “The most difficult things to get right are the horns,” says Lenstra. “They were a weapon and they pointed forward to kill predators.” Another challenge is temperament. The animal must be wild enough to survive on its own, but not dangerous to people. “We don’t want the liability of an aggressive animal,” says Lenstra. “It has to be a little bit friendly.”
Small herds of tauros have already been released in Croatia, Portugal, Romania and Spain. The programme continues to refine the breed, and a recently is helping. “We’ll never reach the real thing, but we want to get as close as possible,” says Ronald Goderie, the programme’s president.
Yet some conservationists see rewilding as folly. “For many people the main attraction is to see big animals roaming around, regardless of whether it’s good for the ecosystem,” says of the Natural History Museum in Denmark. “You are translocating animals that might bring diseases and parasites to local wildlife.”
Animals being introduced by Rewilding Europe will be checked and vaccinated if necessary, says Helmer. “You can’t exclude the risks 100 per cent, but you can try to minimise them.” Rewilding Europe is also releasing more common grazers such as ibex. Already, some of Europe’s largest predators – the lynx, wolverine, wolf and brown bear – are returning naturally to these areas.
Given enough time, we could create wildlife parks and eco-tourism. “This is the opportunity in rewilding,” says Jepson. “The question is not whether to do it, but how to proceed.”
This article appeared in print under the headline “Reviving extinct beasts”
