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Post by brobear on Apr 21, 2022 4:12:36 GMT -5
CANTABRIAN BROWN BEAR RESEARCH GROUP www.cantabrianbrownbear.org/projects/ MAIN PROJECTS 2021-2024 A step forward for the conservation of threatened species in Spain: brown bear telemetry in the Cantabrian Mountains (bearMOVE; PID2020-114181GB-I00). Financed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, State Research Agency (AEI) and FEDER The brown bear is one of the most threatened vertebrate species in Spain and a flagship species for conservation in Europe. The brown bear population of the Cantabrian Mountains (NW Spain) is amongst the smallest, most isolated and endangered brown bear populations in Europe, together with the brown bear populations of the Pyrenees, the Apennines (central Italy) and the eastern Alps of Italy. Over the last decade, this bear population has been increasing but there is still little information on several basic aspects of bear biology in the Cantabrian Mountains The usage of telemetry tags in this project will allow gathering crucial data on bear ecology and behaviour in the Cantabrian range, such as bear movements, rhythms of activity, habitat use and preferences. This information is considered crucial by local authorities because it will generate, for the first time ever, ground-breaking information on brown bears interaction with in the Cantabrian range, where the species is frequently confronted with the need to coexist in close proximity with people. This is of particular importance to better understand the brown bear dispersal routes and strategies as well as the causes and rates of mortality in a human-modified landscape where there is a profound lack of information on the effects of potential barriers to bear displacements, mainly during their dispersal phase, such as human density, activities and infrastructures, and protected vs. non-protected areas on food availability and shelter. The monitoring of radiotagged subadults during dispersal allows understanding (a) key habitat types during displacements, (b) location and type of physical barriers that bears may encounter (e.g. highways and roads with high vehicle traffic), and how to facilitate their movements, (c) what threats they face and their rate of mortality, and (d) periods of the year particularly crucial during dispersal. Telemetry can proportionate fine-grained information at both spatial and temporal scales that cannot be achieved by other methods. Understanding the different experiences and constraints that subadults face before they become sexually mature can help us understand why the two subpopulations end up in such different demographic situations, with a positive trend in the western sector of the Cordillera and a very worrying stagnation in the eastern sector. This implies not only understanding how and why subpopulations fluctuate or remain stable, but also where the factors responsible for such fluctuations act. It is therefore very urgent to start the first, long-term telemetry study on Cantabrian brown bears, in an environment characterized by both the intensity of human activities and their potential negative effects. A telemetry project will allow quantifying, among other information: (1) the extent and location of males and females displacements and home ranges throughout the different periods that characterize the biology of the brown bear, including mating and hyperphagia seasons, as well as the phase prior to hibernation and just after spring den exit; (2) periods and rates movements of subadults throughout the two subpopulations, which is essential to identify and try to limit the barrier effect of some infrastructures; (3) rhythms of activity, movements and use of space. These data are crucial for the conservation and viability of the brown bear population in the Cantabrian Mountains.
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Post by brobear on Apr 21, 2022 4:14:28 GMT -5
CANTABRIAN BROWN BEAR RESEARCH GROUP 2021-2022 Technical support for the realisation of the brown bear telemetry project in Castile and Leon (Cantabrian Mountains, Spain). Financed by the Dirección General de Patrimonio Natural y Política Forestal de la JCYL (EN-17/21) First telemetry project to study subadult dispersal in the small, isolated and endangered brown bear population in the Cantabrian Mountains (Spain). Financed by the International Association for Bear Research and Management (IBA, USA; IBA-RG_ _2020) The endangered population of the Cantabrian brown bear: (a) lives in an area characterized by a high density of people and human infrastructures; (b) is composed of two subpopulations (western and eastern) with little connection between them; and (c) data on bear movements, space use and rhythms of activity are extremely scarce and limited to few recovered individuals. This project aims to study bear dispersal in a human-modified landscape. This research is especially important in small, endangered brown bear populations, as is the case of the Cantabrian population, one of the smallest and most isolated bear populations in the whole of Europe. Subadult dispersal is a crucial process allowing for expansion of the species towards suitable areas still unoccupied by the species and connection between the two subpopulations. However, we lack information on dispersal routes and strategies, as well as the causes and rates of subadult mortality, which may affect the viability of this small and isolated population at the southernmost limits of the brown bear’s worldwide distribution. Thus, to ensure the viability of this population it is not sufficient to preserve those habitats which guarantee food and shelter, as good connectivity between the two subpopulations must also be increased and maintained to allow the spread of individuals (and genes) between the two nuclei and towards areas that have not yet been occupied by this expanding population. Consequently, the most urgent priority for the conservation of the Cantabrian brown bear population is the study of juvenile dispersal, and the most appropriate method to obtain this information is the capture and radiocollaring of subadults. In fact, telemetry will allow for the understanding of the key dispersal habitats during the different phases of bear biology, the physical barriers that bear are faced with and how to remove them, as well as the dangers potentially affecting the survival of dispersing individuals.
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Post by brobear on Apr 21, 2022 4:15:28 GMT -5
CANTABRIAN BROWN BEAR RESEARCH GROUP 2018-2020 Characterisation and quantification of the parasite load of the brown bear population in the Cantabrian Mountains. Excellence Project CGL2017-82782-P financed by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER, EU). In recent decades, major efforts have been made to preserve the small, isolated and endangered brown bear population in the Cantabrian Mountains. However, little is known about the possible presence of parasitic infections of this population and the potential interactions with domestic species. Our study is mainly aimed at the: (1) knowledge of the parasite load present in Cantabrian brown bears; and (2) establishment of potential interactions between parasitic infections in bears and domestic animals.
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Post by brobear on Apr 21, 2022 4:16:52 GMT -5
CANTABRIAN BROWN BEAR RESEARCH GROUP The brown bear in the Cantabrian Mountains as an example of the coexistence of humans and large carnivores in human-modified environment. Excellence Project CGL2017-82782-P financed by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER, EU). Human activities are having a profound impact on the natural world. For many animals, a change in behaviour is very often the first response to human-altered conditions and/or human activities. Such behavioural modifications may also interfere with physiological processes and, in so doing, weaken the ability of organisms to mount an appropriate behavioural response. Indeed, some human activities may result in elevated glucocorticoid levels, which can lead to a multitude of physiological problems. But when we consider the changes that human activities are producing on the natural world, we tend to think of those alterations to natural ecosystems that often have immediate perceptibly effects on animal species. However, some human activities, such as variable human densities, the presence of human infrastructures and leisure activities, may engender more subtle and difficult to detect effects on animal populations. However, we still lack even a rough understanding of their global effects on wildlife. For example, there are many cases illustrating the negative impacts that often result from tourist–wildlife interactions. Brown bears (Ursus arctos) in the Cantabrian Mountains closely coexist with people in a highly human presence and activity: (i) alter bear behaviour; and (ii) increase stress levels. In addition, and with the aim to understand the effects of human and natural landscapes on the brown bear population of the Cantabrian Mountains, we will also build a model depicting the potential range expansion of the species in the near future.
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Post by brobear on Apr 21, 2022 4:18:02 GMT -5
CANTABRIAN BROWN BEAR RESEARCH GROUP 2017 Brown bear behaviour in human-modified landscapes: the effect of human density and ecotourism. Financed by the International Association for Bear Research and Management (IBA, USA; IBA-RG_16_2016) The endangered population of the Cantabrian brown bear lives in an area characterized by a high density of people and human infrastructures. Moreover, the recent expansion of ecotourism has established a large network of bear-viewing points, some of them at a relatively close distance to bear activity areas. This project aims to study bear behaviour in a human-modified landscape as a function of human settlements and density, as well as presence/absence of bear–viewing points, by way of video recordings. A behavioural change is very often the first response to human-altered conditions and/or human activities. Such behavioural modifications can potentially improve an organism’s fitness, but may also have serious and unexpected consequences on rhythms of activity, feeding, mating, health, and, more generally, survival. In addition, human-altered conditions can weaken the reliability of cues used by animals to assess habitat quality, resulting in suboptimal habitat choices that can negatively impact survival and reproductive success. Finally, leisure activities, such as wildlife watching, are recognized as the most prominent cultural ecosystem service, but we still lack even a rough understanding of its global effects on animal ecology and behaviour. There is a growing demand from the public to interact with wildlife in the wild, and the brown bear is undoubtedly the most targeted species for ecotourism in both Europe and North America. Under this perspective, when evaluating the effects and sustainability of bear-based tourism, it is crucial to understand the bear’s choice whether or not to flee from people, and the impacts of that decision on bear fitness. Main objective of the current project is to disentangle the effects of different factors related to human-modified landscapes on bear behaviours, i.e. to understand if: (1) bears in human-modified landscapes can coexist with people with minimal alteration to their behaviour because bears are habituated to the presence of people; or (2) bears located in close proximity of humans and their activities, e.g. near bear-viewing points or in areas of high density of human activities, show important alterations to their behaviour.
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Post by brobear on Apr 21, 2022 4:18:56 GMT -5
CANTABRIAN BROWN BEAR RESEARCH GROUP 2017 Identifying brown bear expansion zones in the Cantabrian Mountains using maximum entropy modelling. Financed by the Principado de Asturias, Spain The continued demographic and geographic expansion of the brown bear population in the Cantabrian Mountains, coupled with the conflicts that arise in areas of recent colonization, makes it imperative that Cantabrian brown bear conservation and management is proactive rather than reactive. A central component in facilitating proactive management is to enable quantitative predictions regarding the continued geographic distribution of the population. This study aims to evaluate maximum entropy modelling as a method for predicting bear occurrence and expansion zones in the Cantabrian Range.
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Post by brobear on Apr 21, 2022 4:20:01 GMT -5
2016-2017 Stress levels as a consequence of bear watching. Testing for a protocol to monitor stress hormone metabolites in brown bear scats. Financed by the Principado de Asturias, Spain Human activities are having a profound impact on the natural world. For many animals, a change in behaviour is very often the first response to human-altered conditions and/or human activities. Such behavioural modifications may also interfere with physiological processes and, in so doing, weaken the ability of organisms to mount an appropriate behavioural response. Indeed, human activities may result in elevated glucocorticoid concentrations, which can lead to a multitude of physiological problems. The increasing popularity of bear viewing activities occurs within the broader context of an increasing demand for opportunities to interact with nature. For the increasing but still rather small and endangered brown bear population in the Spanish Cantabrian Range, the increasing demand for bear tourism urgently calls for an understanding of the conditions causing bears to flee or linger around viewing points, and the fitness consequences of these behaviours has become increasingly important in evaluating the impacts of bear viewing practices. Although European brown bears populations have been shown to successfully deal with human-dominated landscapes, the impact of tourism on them is still unknown. Given (i) the risks that inappropriate management decisions may have on threatened populations and (ii) the economic importance of ecotourism to threatened species like bears, it is crucial to determine whether human visitation can be continued without harming these animals. Prior to starting the analysis of scat from wild brown bears, we are validating a protocol for hormone monitoring using captive brown bears in the Proaza Rescue Centre (Fundación Oso de Asturias www.osodeasturias.es/fundacion-oso), which is necessary given the high degradation rates of stress hormones in faecal samples.
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Post by brobear on Apr 26, 2022 1:14:42 GMT -5
Eurasian brown bear en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_brown_bear The Eurasian brown bear (Ursus arctos arctos) is one of the most common subspecies of the brown bear, and is found in much of Eurasia. It is also known as the European brown bear, common brown bear, common bear, and colloquially by many other names. The genetic diversity of present-day brown bears (Ursus arctos) has been extensively studied over the years and appears to be geographically structured into five main clades based upon analysis of the mtDNA. The Eurasian brown bear has brown fur, which ranges from yellowish-brown to dark brown, red-brown, and almost black in some cases; albinism has also been recorded. The fur is dense to varying degrees and the hair can grow up to 10 cm in length. The head normally is quite round in shape and has relatively small rounded ears, a wide skull and a mouth equipped with 42 teeth, including predatory teeth. It has a powerful bone structure and large paws equipped with claws that can grow up to 10 cm in length. The weight varies depending on habitat and the time of the year. A full-grown male weighs on average between 250 and 300 kilograms (550 and 660 lb), and reaches a maximum weight of 481 kg (1,058 lb) and length of nearly 2.5 m (8.2 ft). Females typically range between 150 and 250 kg (330 and 550 lb). They have a lifespan of 20 to 30 years in the wild. Brown bears were present in Britain until no later than AD 1000, when they had been exterminated through over-hunting. Eurasian brown bears were used in Ancient Rome for fighting in arenas. The strongest bears apparently came from Caledonia and Dalmatia. In antiquity, the Eurasian brown bear was largely carnivorous, with 80% of its diet consisting of animal matter. However, as its habitat increasingly diminished, the portion of meat in its diet decreased with it until by the late Middle Ages, meat consisted of only 40% of its dietary intake. Today, meat makes up little more than 10–15% of its diet. Whenever possible, the brown bear will consume sheep. Unlike in North America, where an average of two people a year are killed by bears, Scandinavia only has records of three fatal bear attacks within the last century. However, in late 2019, brown bears killed three men in Romania in just over a month. The oldest fossils are from the Choukoutien, China, and date back about 500,000 years. It is known from mtDNA studies that during the Pleistocene ice age it was too cold for the brown bear to survive in Europe except in three places: Russia, Spain, and the Balkans. Modern research has made it possible to track the origin of the subspecies. The species to which it belongs developed more than 500,000 years ago, and researchers have found that the Eurasian brown bear separated about 850,000 years ago, with one branch based in Western Europe and the other branch in Russia, Eastern Europe and Asia. Through research of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), researchers have found that the European family has divided into two clades—one in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balkans, the other in Russia. There is a population in Scandinavia that includes bears of the western and eastern lineages. By analyzing the mtDNA of the southern population, researchers have found that they have probably come from populations in the Pyrenees in Southern France and Spain and the Cantabrian Mountains (Spain). Bears from these populations spread to southern Scandinavia after the last ice age. The northern bear populations originate in the Finnish/Russian population. Probably their ancestors survived the ice age in the ice-free areas west of the Ural Mountains, and thereafter spread to Northern Europe.
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Post by brobear on Apr 26, 2022 1:19:01 GMT -5
Distribution Brown bears could once be found across most of Eurasia, compared to the more limited range today.
Although included as of Least Concern on the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (which refers to the global species, not to the Eurasian brown bear specifically), local populations are becoming increasingly scarce. And as the IUCN itself adds:
"Least Concern does not always mean that species are not at risk. There are declining species that are evaluated as Least Concern."
The brown bear has long been extinct in Ireland, Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium, but still exists in Northern Europe and in Russia.
Globally, the largest population is found east of the Ural mountain range, in the large Siberian forests; brown bears are also present in smaller numbers in parts of central Asia (former Soviet states).
The largest brown bear population in Europe is in Russia, where it has now recovered from an all-time low caused by intensive hunting. Populations in Baltoscandia are similarly, albeit slowly, increasing. They include almost 3,000 bears in Sweden, 2,000 in Finland, 1,000 in Estonia[17] and around 100 in Norway.
Large populations can also be found in Romania (around 6,000), Slovakia (around 1,200), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia (1,200), Slovenia (500-700), North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Poland, Turkey, and Georgia.
Small but still significant populations can also be found in Albania, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro. In 2005, there were an estimated 200 in Ukraine; these populations are part of two distinct metapopulations: the Carpathian with over 5000 individuals, and the Dinaric-Pindos (Balkans) with around 3000 individuals.
There is a small but growing population ( at least 70 bears ) in the Pyrenees, on the border between Spain and France, which was once on the edge of extinction, as well as two subpopulations in the Cantabrian Mountains in Spain ( amounting to around 250 individuals ). There are also populations totalling around 100 bears in the Abruzzo, South Tyrol and Trentino regions of Italy.
Outside Europe and Russia/the CIS, clades of brown bear persist in small, isolated and for the most part highly threatened populations in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, parts of northwest India and central China, and on the island of Hokkaido in Japan.
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Post by OldGreenGrolar on Apr 26, 2022 4:40:49 GMT -5
Apart from the Tibetan blue bear, the Scandinavian brown bear is my favourite brown bear subspecies. Which European brown bear is the most aggressive? Probably the Carpathian brown bear which was used in Roman Pit Fights?
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Post by brobear on Apr 26, 2022 4:49:47 GMT -5
Apart from the Tibetan blue bear, the Scandinavian brown bear is my favourite brown bear subspecies. Which European brown bear is the most aggressive? Probably the Carpathian brown bear which was used in Roman Pit Fights? My guess would be the same as your's. Carpathian Mountains ( made famous by Bram Stoker's Dracula )
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Post by brobear on Apr 28, 2022 6:57:58 GMT -5
Eurasian brown bear www.bearconservation.org.uk/eurasian-brown-bear/ Accepted scientific name: Ursus arctos arctos (Carl Linnaeus, 1758) Description: Ranging from almost black to near-white the fur is more usually brown and is fairly dense. The head is quite round and the skull is wide. Paws and claws are large and males typically weigh between 265 and 355 kg (583–780 lb). Females range between around 100 and 250 kg. The largest Eurasian brown bear recorded weighed 481 kg and was almost 2.5 metres in length. Range: Found in northern Eurasia. There are believed to be over 100,000 brown bears in Russia, about 36,000 of which are in in European Russia. Elsewhere in Europe there are a total of around 17,000 brown bears, around 5,000 to 6,000 of these being found in the Carpathian Mountains area of Romania, the largest single population outside Russia. The remaining distribution is scattered and disconnected with small populations in the Spanish/French Pyrenees (around 43 bears), the Cantabrian Mountains in Spain (around 230 to 300 bears – in 2018 some 330 bears were counted in the mountains, according to the environmentalist foundation Oso Pardo), and the Alps in Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia (around 50 bears in total). There are an estimated 40 to 60 Marsican brown bears in the Apennine Mountains in Italy. Some of these populations may be too small to be sustainable. In Scandinavia the population is connected to the very large population of Russia. The population in the Balkans, mainly in Croatia and Slovenia, is relatively large but disconnected from the major population of Europe. 481 kg = 1,060.42 pounds.
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Post by brobear on May 6, 2022 7:16:31 GMT -5
Eurasian Bear Facts: Animals Of Europe www.worldatlas.com/articles/eurasian-bear-facts-animals-of-europe.html 5. Physical Description Also referred to as the Brown Bear due to it’s color, the Eurasian bear has a rich, and very thick, coat. The hair of this coat can grow up to five inches long. With a round head, small ears, and a wide skull, the Eurasian bear is hard to miss. Males can reach up to a substantial 800 pounds, while females are much smaller, weighing in at around 300 to 500 pounds. The largest Eurasian bear ever recorded reached lengths of more than eight feet and weighed more than 1,000 pounds. It is more common, however, for male Eurasian brown bears to only grow up to six or seven feet long. 4. Diet Similar to the diets of their cousins the Grizzly and Syrian brown bears, Eurasian bears are omnivores, meaning they ingest both plants and animal-based foods. Naturally, Eurasian bears will dine on sprouts, plants, roots, insects, fish, and mammals. Although their main animal food sources are relatively small mammals and insects (especially moths), Eurasian brown bears are also known to take down large animals. These animals can range from elk, deer, mountain goats, and bighorn sheep, to bison and muskoxen. However, to take down these animals they must segregate them from the rest of their herds, and it is often the young or sick from these species that are victimized. 3. Habitat And Range Due to Eurasian bears' vast range throughout Europe and parts of Asia, there is an estimated 100,000 thousand alive today. Of those 100,000, around 70,000 are to be found in Russia. The Eurasian bear can also be found in mountain ranges across Japan, Northwest Africa, and the Himalayas. These brown bears are native to mountainous regions, although they will spread into lower lying forests in some instances, especially as food availability changes. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species classifies Eurasian brown bears as a species of "Least Concern". 2. Behavior Similar to the Canadian grizzly, the Eurasian brown bear dominates its lands as an apex predator. As history will show, Eurasian brown bears' diets were about 80% carnivorous until the Middle Ages. Afterwards, when Humans became a bigger threat and prevented the bears from hunting livestock, the animals had to adapt to their surroundings. Today, the Eurasian brown bear’s diet is only 15% meat. This means the Eurasian bear spends most of it’s time scavenging for berries, leaves, and insects. In very cool areas, such as Serbia, these bears will hibernate during the winter months from December to March. Then, come spring, they begin to stir as their mating season commences. 1. Reproduction After hibernation, the Eurasian brown bear's mating season lasts from May to July, after which time a female will remain pregnant for 180 to 266 days. Most births occur during the hibernation months, from December through March, as the females can give birth in a much safer location. Much like many young mammals, baby Eurasian brown bears are born incredibly vulnerable and dependent upon their mothers. The babies are born blind and naked, weighing in at only 340 to 680 grams (12 to 24 ounces). By six months of age, a cub will reach 55 pounds, and it will still be nursed by its lactating mother. Yet, small leaves, berries, and insects are slowly being introduced into the young bear cubs' diets at this time. Most bears will die at an early age due to hunting or fighting between males. Nonetheless, Eurasian brown bears can live from 20 to 30 years in the wild if such violent events or illness do not kill them first.
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Post by brobear on May 6, 2022 7:16:55 GMT -5
The Eurasian Bear
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Post by brobear on Jun 13, 2022 6:41:09 GMT -5
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Post by brobear on Sept 15, 2022 5:52:52 GMT -5
Eurasian brown bear: www.expresstorussia.com/experience-russia/types-of-russian-bear.html The Eurasian brown bear is the most populous of all the species. Though they can be found as south as Northern Iran and as north as the nether regions of western-Russia, the bulk of the population is concentrated east of the Ural Mountains, in the dense Siberian forests. So numerous are these brown bears in Siberia that they are simply referred to as the “common bear”. Despite their reputation, brown bears get less of their calories from meat than most people. Only 10-15% of a brown bear’s diet consists of prey, with the rest consisting of a colourful medley of berries, grasses, insects and anything else they can get their paws on. Bears are infamous food pinchers; their voracious appetites have led them into all sorts of trouble. Many campers and rangers have learned the necessity of locking up food the hard way but, even then, a padlocked cooler is child’s play for a hungry bear. Thanks to their long, tough claws, brown bears are the only bear capable ofdigging up starchy foods such as tubers, and they’ve been seen digging up entire beaches in search of crabs and clams! But though the majority of Brown Bears are about as innocuous as a hungry Labrador, there are a few individuals who deserve their fearsome reputation. These bears were taught by their mothers to charge at large mammals, such as elk and even young wolves, and tear them to bits while still alive.
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Post by brobear on Oct 5, 2022 14:29:38 GMT -5
Grey Wolves, Brown Bears And Humpback Whales Are Making A Surprising Comeback In Europe October 4, 2022 kingdomstv.com/grey-wolves-brown-bears-and-humpback-whales-are-making-a-surprising-comeback-in-europe/ Brown bears, wolves, and humpback whales are all among 50 species making a comeback in Europe. The animals that are growing were monitored for the latest European Wildlife Comeback report. Many formerly-struggling species have experienced “spectacular” recoveries, including humpback whales, wolverines, and Eurasian otters. The paper claims that “Wild nature is resilient and can recover if conditions are suitable. These suitable conditions are mostly the result of human activity, which makes habitat restoration and species reintroduction possible. Much of the wildlife in Europe is still in danger. On the continent, one in five mammals and almost one in eight bird species still face extinction. However, the analysis of many of the species that have made remarkable comebacks in the research reveals “reasons for optimism.” Grey wolves formerly roamed the whole continent. However, due to human encroachment on their habitats and hunting, they came dangerously close to going extinct in the 20th century. Population growth during the 1970s increased by 1,800% to 17,000.
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