Charting the Rebound of Wild Animals in Europe
By the first half of the 20th century, many of Europe’s mammals had been reduced to just a fraction of their historical levels. Millennia of hunting, exploitation, and habitat loss had forced them into decline. Many had been wiped out completely. But many mammal populations have seen a dramatic increase over the last 50 years.
A coalition of conservation organizations – including the Zoological Society of London; Birdlife International; and Rewilding Europe – periodically publish reports on how animal populations across Europe are changing. In their latest report they looked at the change in populations of 24 mammal species, and one reptile species – the Loggerhead turtle. The results are shown in the chart.
Eurasian badger populations achieved an average increase of 100% – a doubling. Eurasian otters tripled, on average. For red deer this was an increase of 331%.
The Eurasian beaver has made the most remarkable recovery. It’s estimated to have increased 167-fold, on average. There were likely only a few thousand beavers left in Europe in first half of the 20th century. Today there are more than 1.2 million.
The European bison has achieved a similar level of comeback.
There are more than 250 European mammal species, so the ones that we covered here represent just 10% of the continent’s mammals. The fact that these species are doing well does not mean that all species are. Nonetheless, they give us many promising examples of how animal populations can recover after a long decline.