As part of their Master’s degree in Forest and Nature conservation at Wageningen University & Research, students Lucy Dötig and Fleur Bokma did a six months internship this year with Rewilding Europe, investigating habitat suitability for fallow deer, red deer and European bison in the Rhodope Mountains Rewilding Landscape. We checked in with them recently to see how they have been getting on.
The griffon vulture is an iconic and ecologically important species in the Central Apennines of Italy. Aided by new funding, the local rewilding team are working hard to support population growth.
The deployment of EarthRanger software across all of Rewilding Europe’s operational areas will allow rewilding teams to keep better track of wildlife, thereby enhancing rewilding outcomes.
An ongoing eagle owl reintroduction programme has just seen three juvenile birds released in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta. As part of scaled-up rewilding efforts in the delta, the programme should boost trophic complexity and reestablish a viable local population of the species.
From GPS collars and citizen science to drones and predictive risk maps, technology is playing an increasingly influential role in making Europe a wilder place.
More than 70 griffon vulture chicks have so far hatched in the Rhodope Mountains rewilding area in Bulgaria this year. This encouraging figure continues the upward trend in numbers experienced in recent years.
Following multiple releases of both species, monitoring data shows populations of red and fallow deer are now thriving in the Rhodope Mountains rewilding area and beyond. This is good news for predators, scavengers and local nature-based businesses.
Five bison reintroduced into the Southern Carpathians rewilding area in Romania in 2019 were fitted with GPS collars. This technology is helping the local rewilding team to promote coexistence and make more informed decisions.
Having left the Rhodope Mountains rewilding area in 2019, a pair of griffon vultures tagged with GPS transmitters have now journeyed as far as Saudi Arabia. The data from their wanderings will help conserve this locally endangered species.
A group of five griffon vultures has been tagged with GPS transmitters in the Western Iberia rewilding area in northern Portugal. By shedding new light on the birds’ foraging behaviour, the data collected from the transmitters will support the restoration of natural food chains in the area and underpin the continued comeback of this magnificent species.