The population of predators is increasing in Europe. Most of them are wolves, brown bears and white-tailed eagles.
This is reported in the European Wildlife Comeback report.
Researchers analyzed data on 50 wild animal species that have increased in population size and geographic distribution over the past 40 years to show how effective legal protection, environmental restoration and reintroduction are contributing to species recovery.
Among the predators, the gray wolf returned the fastest. They were killed by humans for centuries, until a period of decline occurred in the 1970s, when only a few populations remained in southern and northeastern Europe. After the adoption of legislation on their protection and greater tolerance of society to live alongside them, the number of wolves increased by 1 800%. Now 17,000 individuals roam almost all over continental Europe.
The bear population has increased by 44% since 1960 — thanks to better legal protection.
There are now 12 500 pairs of white-tailed eagles in Europe, with growing populations on the west coast of Scotland and the Isle of Wight. Across Europe, the number of white-tailed eagles increased by 445% between 1970 and 2018, primarily due to legal protections and bans on harmful pesticides.
The Eurasian beaver has had one of the most dramatic comebacks among herbivores, increasing its range by 835% since 1955.
Despite the positive results, wildlife is still disappearing at a record rate across the planet: a million animal species are threatened with extinction and the vast majority of Europeʼs protected landscapes are in poor condition. Although many of these species have shown recovery over the past nearly 40 years, this follows centuries of decline, so none have reached their former abundance.