Bison has historically been one of the most common animals in Europe. The largest herbivore we have on the continent, this species has peacefully roamed the entire region. Again, hunting and habitat destruction has brought them to the brink of extinction in recent years. Like them, bears, wolves, lynxes, beavers, and countless other species suffered the same fate, declining for thousands of years and increasing in decline especially in the last 500 years.

Now, new data shows us that many of the continent’s mammal populations are starting to thrive again. Bears, wolves, bison, beavers and even turtles They’re coming back in Europe. Let’s see what it is and why.

To get started, let’s cite an important recent study by a coalition of conservation organizations including the Zoological Society of London, Birdlife International and Rewilding Europe. Together, they analyzed data on 50 species whose population size and geographic range has expanded over the past 40 years to show how legal protection and landscape restoration can help restore endangered species.

As this chart made by Our World in Data with data from this report shows, gray wolves they are one of the comeback populations in Europe. These animals that roamed the continent nearly disappeared in the 20th century, when humans invaded their habitat and hunted them down. They have increased their population by 1,871 percent since 1965.

Not just wolves, the brown bear is another returning carnivore. Since 1960, the population has increased by 44%. And so, dozens of species. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were only 1,200 beavers in Europe. Now, there are over a million. Meanwhile, European bison populations increased 399% since 1971.

Eurasian badgers doubled. Deer grew 331%, and the Iberian lynx, whose population dwindled after decades of decline, unexpectedly reappeared (+529%). The number of gray seals is even more surprising: they have increased by 6,273% since 1971.

How did we do it?

In a nutshell: stopping all these activities that are killing them. If we make a list, protection against hunting, overexploitation and habitat destruction has been the differentiator for this promising phenomenon. For example, agricultural land use has declined across Europe over the past 50 years, allowing animals to return to their habitats.

if we take produce more with less, we can free the wilderness. Improvements in agricultural productivity have not only stopped expansion, but have allowed us to produce more food.

Another good way to go is to stop hunting them. Many countries on the continent have implemented effective conservation policies such as: hunting bans or quotas, designated areas with legal protection, patrols to catch illegal poachers, and compensation schemes for breeding certain species. Many mammals are now included in strictly regulated regional conservation programs such as the EU’s Habitats and Species Directive; Bern Convention and CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).

Come on, countries took the responsibility. in 1981 Sweden introduces brown bear hunting quotas and this is believed to be the main driver of this breed’s recovery. He also created a compensation plan with rewards for breeding wolverines. On the other hand, a common seal hunting ban was introduced across Europe, with the exception of Iceland and Norway. What these changes show is that it is possible to recover the fauna.

Despite all this good news, wildlife is still disappearing on the planet at a record rate. One million species threatened with extinction and the vast majority of Europe’s land is in poor condition. Although many of these animals have made an improvement in recent years, they follow centuries of decline.

Images: Remove Bounce | Graphic: Our World in Data