Reintroducing the Grey Wolf to the UK

 *This blog was originally posted on 27.10.2020 on the Palaeomanchester blog*

The Grey wolf (Canis lupus) is the largest extant member of the Canidae family and is native to areas of North America and Eurasia. Most of the British population are oblivious to the fact that these animals, capable of growing up to 160cm in length, are actually a native British species. You’d be forgiven for not knowing this however, as the last wild wolf in the UK and Ireland was hunted by the 1700s.

Canis lupus skull and lower jaw, 1758, part of collections at Manchester Museum

Wolves have been one of the most popular animals to be potentially reintroduced as a wild species in the UK, as well as being one of the most controversial ones, and the idea has been in circulation for at least 20 years.

A study by AlJazeera in 2019 asked 2,083 members of the British public if Wolves should be brought back to the UK wilderness, in only which 36% said yes.

Unsurprisingly, the main concern is how dangerous they are, being a 40kg predator that hunts in packs, it’s not something you’d like to come across on your Sunday afternoon walk. However, the proposals that have been put forward has suggested Wolves to be put in remote, fenced off areas, mostly in the Scottish Highlands where there are low human populations.

Farmers in these areas are some of the main advocates for not reintroducing wolves, as they pose a risk to livestock, which will have a knock on effect on crops and other areas of farming. Organisations such as Alladale Wilderness Reserve have proposed that there will be schemes in place to compensate and subsidise farmers in the event of a wolf killing livestock.

Alladale Wilderness Reserve is most likely the first place they will be reintroduced to the UK if it ever happened. It is a 23,000 acre-fenced space, with plans to expand the area to 50,000 acres. Plans are to introduce two wolf packs, that would control the rapidly increasing deer population, and benefit the ecosystem of the whole area. The site also plans to run tourist wolf safaris and other experiences which will generate further income.

Location of Alladale Wilderness Reserve, roughly 47 miles from Inverness, the closest city.

Evidence to support the reintroduction of Wolves can be seen by looking at Yellowstone National Park, USA. Since 14 Wolves were reintroduced to the area in 1995, elk population has decreased, which has allowed more greenery to flourish, thus more birds returned to the area and beavers could create dams again, which had an affect on the ecology of rivers flowing through the area, allowing fish to repopulate, which subsequently brought back bears and foxes to the area. This also increased tourism in the area, and today, brings in $35.5 million annually to the state of Wyoming

By looking at this, it can be seen that Wolves would be a good option to reintroduce to the UK, and it hopefully won’t be too long before a concrete plan is put in place so they can return to one of their native lands.

You can find out more information on wolves and other species of fauna and flora conservation in the displays at Manchester Museum, or by searching the collections online.

References
– Alladale Wilderness Reserve. 2021. Bringing back wolves – Alladale Wilderness Reserve. [online] Available at: <https://alladale.com/bringing-back-wolves/&gt;.
– Boitani, L., Phillips, M. & Jhala, Y. 2018. Canis lupus (errata version published in 2020). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T3746A163508960.
– Clark, N., 2020. Beavers, bison and returning beasts: Rewilding the UK. [online] Aljazeera.com. Available at: <https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/9/3/beavers-bison-and-returning-beasts-rewilding-the-uk&gt;
– My Yellowstone Park. 2020. 1995 Reintroduction of Wolves in Yellowstone. [online] Available at: <https://www.yellowstonepark.com/park/yellowstone-wolves-reintroduction&gt;

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