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Rewilding Europe

United Kingdom Sully Offline
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Serene video of backbred aurochs in the Czech Republic 



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United Kingdom Sully Offline
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2015 article on the European water buffalo / water buffalo in Europe

http://breedingback.blogspot.com/2015/07...water.html


During the Pleistocene and probably also until the antiquary, Europe was not inhabited by only two species of bovine – aurochs and wisent – but three. This third bovine was Bubalus murrensis, an indigenous species of water buffalo. It is extinct and left no living descendants. Nowadays, due to the European rewilding movement, the genus Bubalus has gained some interest for landscape conservationists and “rewilders”. It is important to distinguish between living European variants of the domestic water buffalo, descending from the Asiatic Bubalus arnee, and the indigenous species B. murrensis.
Are water buffalos a perspective for conservation in Europe, and are they further a legitimate megafauna species on this continent?

Bubalus murrensis – the true European water buffalo



*This image is copyright of its original author
B. murrensis was part of a clade within Bubalus that is now extinct and that was different from B. arnee. Since the postcranial skeleton of large bovines are all very similar, most material assigned to that species are skulls.  
It was part of the interglacial fauna, like the aurochs and unlike steppe bison and mammoth. It seemingly disappeared at the end of the Pleistocene or early Holocene. There is sparse Neolithic postcranial material from the East of Austria that have been tentatively assigned to Bubalus by Pucher 1991 [1]. About three years ago, I had email conversation with Erich Pucher about his findings, and he told me that the assignment to Bubalus was on weak ground and he would reclassify them as Bos nowadays. I do not know of more Holocene material that might or might not be remains of B. murrensis, although there is the chance that a number of postcranial elements were erroneously assigned to Bos or Bison


*This image is copyright of its original author

B. murrensis cranium at the left; others are Russian Bubalus sp. specimen.
I composed a picture showing a number of buffalo specimen that are extinct species of Bubalus. The only one I know for sure to be murrensis from Germany is the one at the top left, provided by Markus Bühler. The other ones are buffalo skeletons that I found on Russian websites, perhaps they are Asiatic relatives that might provide some clue how their European pendant looked like. The European water buffalo had horns that resembled those of the smaller tamaraw (B. mindorensis) more than the Asiatic water buffalo in that they were oriented more backwards and were not as strongly curved, and their horns probably lacked an upwards curve. Other than that, the rest of the animal might have been quite alike its relatives as bovines do not vary that much in that respect… At the right at the top there is a beautiful life restoration of B. murrensis.
It lived near freshwater habitats just like other members of this genus, many of the remains assigned to this species are from the Netherlands and Germany. A lot of evidence for its presence was found in the Rhone valley, which also was home to the hippopotamus during the Eem interglacial. Bioindicator species suggest that this region was a mosaic of open grassland and forested areas [2]. Due to the sparse palaeontological information we do not know much about its ecology and behaviour. I think it is sound to assume that it was ecologically very similar to its two living relatives, feeding on grasses and water- and swamp plants on watersides of their wetland habitats. We have no clue how gregarious they were. Tamaraw are mostly solitary, while Asiatic water buffalos roam in groups of up to 30 individuals, similar to aurochs/cattle. Probably they were more similar to the latter. I wonder how common they were. There seem to be only very few artistic references to this species in prehistoric art – I only know of petroglyphs from the French cave of Bourdeilles dating back 18.000 years ago that are often believed to show aurochs but I think they more likely depict buffalo because of the horn and head shape. The rarity of artistic references might implicate that B. murrensis was not an important animal in the world of the paleolithic people, perhaps it was a comparably rare animal. But this is speculation. Since it seemingly was not illustrated on coloured cave paintings, we have no idea of its coat colour. Since tamaraw, some domestic and wild Asiatic buffalo have the same “markings” in the form of white areas on their upper lips (something like a very reduced version of the “mealy mouth” in cattle), sometimes also a white tail tip and a crescent-like streak on the ventral side of their neck (I don’t know if there is a particular name for it, call it “neckband”), these markings might have been present in the European water buffalo as well. The rest of the coat colour might have been solid, like in all the other buffalos. Of course we have no idea of the shade of its colour – it might have ranged from greyish over light brown to dark brown or black. Or perhaps it even was a totally different colour… My amateurish illustration on deviantArt shows one possibility.

Domestic buffalo in Europe

Bubalus arnee, the wild Asiatic buffalo, was domesticated about 5000 years ago (the exact time of domestication is a matter of discussion), probably in two separate events by the Indus culture and China [3]. From the Middle East, the domestic buffalo was introduced to Europe as livestock. On this continent it developed landraces that have adapted to the climate here, including a dense and effective winter coat. They can cope with temperatures below -20°C and are also resistant to European parasites. In fact they are better at living on very poor forage than cattle are. While there is a number of specific named breeds in Asia, most buffalo in Europe are of mixed, undetermined origin and there are no clearly marked breeds. I am not that keen researching all those subtypes/breeds of domestic buffalo as it is not really relevant for this post.
It is estimated that there are about 150 million domestic buffalo on this world according to Wikipedia, most of them in Asia. These include a number of feral populations in South East Asia, and also Australia. The longest history as European livestock they have in Eastern Europe, especially the Balkan and also the Carpathians. But they also become  increasingly popular in Germany where they number 2.100 animals already (2010) [4], and also the Netherlands. They can spend all year round outside without a barn or shed and supplementary feeding so some conservation projects use them as grazers just like cattle or horses. Why do they use this non-native species?

*This image is copyright of its original author

Water buffalo at the NP Neusiedler See-Seewinkel, Austria.

Water buffalo as European megafauna?

Obviously domestic water buffalo can be used in conservation projects, but in order to see whether they should be used, or even be introduced into wilderness areas, or not we should investigate the following questions:

1. What purpose do water buffalo serve in conservation projects?
2. Could this job be done by native species as well?
3. Are domestic water buffalo an adequate proxy for B. murrensis, could they even be regarded as native themselves?

Water buffalo have the same positive effect on flora and fauna diversity that other grazers have. By feeding and trampling, they create a more diverse landscape by hindering single, few species from becoming over-dominant and reducing the amount of plant and animal species present. Their organic waste is habitat and food source for many insect and decomposer species, which, on the other hand, are important for avi- and herpetofauna. But they have one advantage over cattle, horses, sheep and goats: the water buffalo has the highest affinity to wetland, both in physical and dietary respect [4, 5]. by wallowing they create small bodies of water that are important for amphibians, as they experience habitat loss even in nature reserves because of silting and drying. Especially the endangered yellow-bellied toad (which is in fact not a toad) benefits from this, but also a lot of other species as well. Cattle and particularly wild boar (as everybody knows, they wallow as well) do that too, but not to the same extent. And cattle make only limited use of wetland, as do goats and sheep. Cattle cannot digest a number of water plants in the first place [4.]. Elk have been used in wetland conservation with success, but they are browsers and do not prevent the unwanted succession of grasses [4].
That is the reason why conservationists have to artificially create these small, non-persistent waterbodies, by using trucks or even tanks (f.e. see here in the Lippeaue) [5]. No question that this is not a satisfying solution on long-term sight for reserves should be as natural as possible. Water buffalo consume wetland or water plants that none of the other species do, and are most efficient in creating small waterbodies by wallowing and trampling. So perhaps water buffalo are not only good but almost necessary for many European nature reserves and biotopes containing wetlands [4, 5].
But if that was the case, how did all this diversity survive all the millennia of the absence of Bubalus? What did amphibians and waterbirds do before we had the idea of using water buffalos or tanks in natural reserves? I think that the work of cattle/aurochs (and also other large grazers), wild boar and elk, not to forget the dynamics of natural waterbodies, were sufficient to keep up the diversity up over the Holocene. In fact, it was and is the industrialization and water management that is destroying the habitat of amphibians and other wetland dwelling species and not the loss of a keystone species several millennia ago. So in my view, the use of water buffalos is certainly beneficial, but not indispensably necessary.

Another argument raised by those who advocate an introduction of water buffalos into European nature reserves is that domestic water buffalos have a legitimation as native animals here because their genus, Bubalus, was present here until the Pleistocene extinction wave and that they would be present without human influence anyway because either B. murrensis was hunted to extinction or B. arnee would have migrated to Europe if humans would not have hindered them [6]. In my opinion, it is speculation that B. murrensis was hunted to extinction. While I am convinced that the overkill hypothesis is certainly more plausible than any other in cases such as the woolly mammoth, and that way more Pleistocene megafauna species would still be alive today without human influence, I think it is too much of a stretch to blame humans categorically for the extinction of each single species that died out around that time – a time that undoubtedly also experienced massive climatic and ecologic changes. And the poor presence of Bubalus in Pleistocene art makes me think that it probably was not a very important game species to humans. Of course it is possible that Bubalus survived longer into the Holocene but and that we did not notice that in archaeological evidence because most of the Holocene Bubalus material has been assigned to Bison and Bos. But where are the crania, or at least horn fragments? One argument is that water buffalos died out earlier than the other two bovine species because human settlements focused on large fertile deltas, the prime habitat of Bubalus. However I have no doubt that there would have still been enough space for this species to continue living into historical times and I also do not think that civilization was intense enough to prevent Bubalus arnee to migrate into the west and, in consequence, Europe.
Nevertheless, lets assume that Bubalus murrensis would have still been around in Europe without human influence and it therefore has a legitimate place in modern European nature reserves. Would domestic buffalo be an adequate proxy? I do think so. They are not the same species (the claim that B. murrensis was merely a chronospecies is, as far as I know, baseless), but ecologically and morphologically probably very similar. Despite being domestic, they are as suited as most cattle to live here in a feral state.

In the end I would say that calling Bubalus a native clade in modern Europe is far-fetched,  and regarding domestic buffalo based on very weak ground as B. arnee probably never inhabited this continent. Actually it sounds like a classic non sequitur: “I am in Innsbruck. Innsbruck is located in Austria, just like Vienna. Therefore I am in Vienna”. Nonetheless, water buffalo can live here, perhaps would without human influence or perhaps not, and they would probably do no harm if introduced here (I do not think they would be considerable competitors for other grazers) but would actually be beneficial even though probably not necessary. Imagining a wilderness area with three bovine species instead of two that all look rather different from each other is tempting and inspiring, and it would be interesting to see how these three species would interact, ecologically and physically. Therefore I would certainly have no objections against a project releasing water buffalos into a European reserve, although I think Europe can do well without them and truly native species should have priority in any case.
The public acceptance of feral water buffalo would probably be higher than the academic.

The water buffalo project of the TNF

The True Nature Foundation is currently preparing a project that aims to introduce water buffalo into a number of suited areas [7]. The plan is to build up herds of European domestic buffalo that are adapted to live here in a feral state and to inseminate them with semen of wild Asiatic buffalo in order to create a buffalo population with wild-type features but also adaption to European climate parasites and forage at the same time. Sounds like an ideal plan to me and I actually had the same idea as well. They also claim that they want to reconstruct the physical characteristics of the Bubalus murrensis, but I wonder how that should work. We have no idea of its colouration, whether it had those white markings or was solid coloured, and if in which tone (grey like Asiatic buffalo or dark brown to black like European domestic buffalo?). It is likely that it had the “standard body” of water buffalo with the same size as B. arnee, which is of course feasible to achieve but not a characteristic trait of B. murrensis. The only diagnostic optical trait of this species we know of is its horn shape, which is, as I described above, more like that of the tamaraw than of any domestic or wild Asiatic water buffalo. Therefore I suggested also using semen of tamaraw. I think it is likely that both species hybridize without restricted fertility and it would bring in the genes for a murrensis-like horn shape. Also it would add more genetic diversity and other wild-type genes. The colour of that population would be a bit of a mosaic, but by far not as heterogeneous as in a random bunch of domestic cattle.
What’s the good of trying to create optic similarity? Well, its not a functional one. Actually it is merely an emotional one, it is more satisfying when the animal that is supposed to fill the old niche of B. murrensis also resembles this species appearance, even if this resemblance is only superficial and artificial.
 

*This image is copyright of its original author

The crossbreeding that will be executed by the TNF's project. Looking forward to seeing the results.


But why using a population of hybrids instead of pure herds of wild Asiatic water buffalo? First of all, it is not sure at all that they would do well in Europe. They are from a different climatic zone with different parasites and diseases. Furthermore, and that brings as to the next point, wild Asiatic buffalos are very rare and endangered, and there are only few populations left in the wild. So I doubt that owners would give their animals to such a project introducing them into a climate and region where they are not native – and I completely agree on that. In my opinion, and probably that of most other people as well, the few true wild water buffalo should be used for conservation programs in their home range. So taking a herd of domestic buffalo and inseminating them with wild buffalo sperm is the most ideal option to me, also because the domestic buffalos are adapted to Europe already. I don’t think such a population would be unsatisfying. For once, most people would not know that a domestic water buffalo is domestic, since it does not nearly look as domestic as ordinary cattle do. Furthermore, they would inherit wild traits anyway and the herd would not be very heterogeneous.

Behaviour

We know nothing about the behaviour of B. murrensis, especially towards humans. Actually I am not fond of the issue that is always made of this aspect of the behaviour of bovines in nature, but it has to be addressed because people are concerned about that when these animals are to be released. The behaviour of wild Asiatic buffalo is described as aggressive when teased but preferring flight. So “standard” for wild bovines. Domestic buffalo are said to be very gentle and friendly in normal domestic use. But very likely their behaviour is plastic and depends on socialization just like that of cattle I guess, so their mood might change when living under semi-feral conditions. I visited the National Park Neusiedler See-Seewinkel in Burgenland, Austria, in 2013 where Hungarian Grey cattle graze together with water buffalo. The buffalo were very curious and cuddly. One of them showed threating behaviour but probably because they had calves. I never heard or read that water buffalo are problematic because of aggressive behaviour, so they probably are not any more dangerous or not-dangerous than cattle under semi-feral conditions.  
Water buffalo and cattle live together in some semi-natural reserves like in Neusiedl or Spreeaue (Germany), and there is, as far as I know, no agonistic behaviour between both species. Bos and Bubalus do not hybridize, a mating either results in no embryo or a miscarry at early stage [8], so there is no danger of intermixing. Probably not with wisent either, because Bison is way closer related to Bos than Bubalus.

Legal issues

Domestic buffalo are legally treated in almost the same way as domestic cattle. I don’t know what the situation with wild Asiatic buffalo is, since these are wild and exotic animals. It is probably also an interesting question how a hybrid population of wild and domestic buffalo will be treated… Let’s see what the TNF is going to do about that.


Literature

1. Pucher, Erich: Erstnachweis des europäischen Wildesels (Equus hydruntinus, Regalia, 1907) im Holozän Österreichs. 1991.
2. Schreiber, Dieter: Finds of Bubalus murrensis (Bovinae, Mammalia) from the Upper Rhine valley: a focus to the complex sedimentological conditions of a quaternary fluviatile system. 18th International Senckenberg Conference 2004
3. Kumar et al.: Mitochondrial DNA analyses of Indian water buffalo support a distinct genetic origin of river and swamp buffalo. 2007.
4. Wiegleb, Gerhard; Krawczynski, Rene: Biodiversity management by water buffalos in restored wetlands. 2010.
5. Stumpf, Thomas: Machbarkeitsstudie zum Einsatz von Wasserbüffeln in der Landschaftspflege im Rheinland.
6. Krawczynski, Rene: Visioning feral water buffalos for Europe.
7. Webpageof the TNF
8. http://www.yakzucht.ch/downloads/domes_genetik_rind.pdf
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Rishi Offline
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(10-06-2019, 07:23 PM)Sully Wrote: Rewilding Europe's work in Finland

https://twitter.com/WhatisuUsername/stat...23744?s=19

I think you posted the wrong link...
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United Kingdom Sully Offline
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@Rishi ah yes sorry. Here's the real one. 

https://rewildingeurope.com/news/finnish...e-capital/
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Momentous milestone
For the first time in centuries, European bison are now roaming free in the Rhodope Mountains of Bulgaria. The herd of seven animals (two males and five females) was released from their enclosure this summer and is now living free in the Studen Kladenets Hunting Reserve (part of the Rhodope Mountains rewilding area), where the Rewilding Rhodopes team is monitoring their behaviour and movement on a daily basis.
“This is a momentous occasion,” says Hristo Hristov, a rewilding officer attached to the Rewilding Rhodopes team. “The animals are now reoccupying their former ecological niche, finding water and food, learning to protect themselves against wolves and jackals, and exploring the challenging terrain.”
 
Baby boost

*This image is copyright of its original author
Nadezhda is the first bison calf born in the wild south of the River Danube since the Middle Ages.
The good news doesn’t end at the bison release. One of the free-roaming female bison has already given birth – this is the first bison calf born in the wild south of the River Danube since the Middle Ages. The female calf and mother are both doing well.
“We are thrilled by the new addition,” says Hristov. “The calf was born in one of the wildest parts of the reserve and has been following the herd ever since. This young bison is a symbol of hope for a wilder and more biodiverse Rhodope Mountains. This is why we have named her Nadezhda (meaning ‘hope’ in Bulgarian).”
 
Beneficial impact

*This image is copyright of its original author
The bison in Studen Kladenets live alongside Konik horses and many other species.

Rewilding Rhodopes

As they roam free in the Rhodope Mountains, the bison will live alongside deer, wolves, vultures and many other rare and endangered species. As in the Southern Carpathians of Romania, where Rewilding Europe and partners have been reintroducing bison since 2014, the animals will have a positive impact on local wild nature, helping to create biodiversity-rich mosaic landscape through their grazing and browsing, as well as enhancing local food chains.
“The European bison will bring a range of benefits to wild nature and people,” says Hristov. “The existing herd has already become quite a visitor attraction and will help us to develop nature-based tourism here.”
 
Scaling up
Rewilding Europe has been working to restore a European bison population in the Eastern Rhodopes since late 2013, when five animals arrived at Studen Kladenets from Germany. After the animals adapted to their new enclosure, 2015 saw the first bison born in the Rhodopes for centuries (in captivity) added to the herd.
In November 2017 two more bison were donated by Suhl Zoo in Germany, a former game reserve dedicated to breeding endangered European species. Going forwards,  Rewilding Europe and the Rewilding Rhodopes team will continue to work together to boost bison numbers in the Rhodopes, with a view to creating a more robust and viable breeding group.
 
Compelling comeback
The European bison once existed across much of Europe in large numbers. It disappeared from the wild in Bulgaria during the Middle Ages, while hunting and habitat loss saw it driven to extinction as a free roaming species in Europe at the beginning of the twentieth century. Various reintroduction programmes have eventually seen significant wild populations restored in Central and Eastern Europe, mainly in Poland and Belarus, with a small herd reintroduced in northeastern Bulgaria in the 1960s.
Today the European bison, as with other European species such as the Eurasian beaver and white-tailed eagle, has made a remarkable comeback in Europe. The culmination of all European bison projects mean their numbers in the wild currently total around 4000.

https://rewildingeurope.com/news/bulgari...on-return/
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More on European water buffalo, and their reintroduction onto a small Ukrainian island

At the end of a long day, Michel Jacobi, 36, rides a water buffalo home. The choice of commute is unique even in rural, Trans-Carpathian Ukraine — though it wasn’t always.
Jacobi, a native of Kiel, Germany, with a degree in ecology and forestry, has spent nearly a decade in Ukraine, raising a sizable herd of domesticated water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), starting an NGO, and living off the sale of their rich and hypoallergenic yogurt and cheese.
But these animals aren’t livestock to Jacobi; the relationship is intimate.
“They produce an atmosphere of coziness and deep-rooted trust,” he says. “All this is only possible, when you admit them to be part of your life and let them be real domestic water buffalo.”
This summer, Jacobi said goodbye to 17 of his animals. He wasn’t selling them for slaughter, but giving them to an ambitious rewilding project to employ these animals as ecosystem engineers on the Danube River in Ukraine.
Lost ancients
In mid-May of this year, officials released seven of Jacobi’s water buffalo onto the 3,500-hectare (8,650-acre) Ermakov Island on the Danube. Ten more followed soon after. One was pregnant and has since given birth to a healthy calf, raising the number of this little population to 18 in total.

*This image is copyright of its original author
A newly released water buffalo stands on Ermakov Island in the Ukraine. Photo by: Andrey Nekrasov / Rewilding Europe.
Katya Kurakina, the communications manager at Rewilding Ukraine, a branch of the NGO Rewilding Europe, says the animals are adapting well to their new island home.
But their arrival here is a part of a long and complicated history of water buffalo in Europe.
When humans first arrived from Africa into Europe some 45,000 years ago, they encountered a fauna wholly different from today, including cave hyenas and lions, woolly mammoths and rhinos, as well as aurochs and water buffalo. Yes, water buffalo. During the Pleistocene, Europe had its very own species of water buffalo, known as Bubalus murrensis.
The animals lived near many of Europe’s major rivers but vanished sometime in the late Pleistocene or early Holocene. Whether they were killed off by overhunting from the incredibly lethal new arrivals — Homo sapiens — or climatic and environmental changes, we simply don’t know. But they were here — and not that long ago, geologically speaking.
Still, this doesn’t mean Rewilding Europe is interested in pretending that it’s bringing back antediluvian ghosts.
“We are not talking about bringing back the extinct species,” Kurakina says. “We aim to find a solution to replace the extinct megafauna with the species that carry on the same biological functions in the ecosystems.”
When the last European water buffalo died they took with them a wholly unique place in the ecology of Europe, one that can be at least partially replaced today, the NGO argues, by rewilding with domestic water buffalo.
Domestic water buffalo have been used in Eastern Europe for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. These animals came from the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, where the last surviving species was domesticated. Today, the wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee) is listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List, imperiled by interbreeding with domestic cattle, hunting in some countries, and habitat loss. This Asian species is likely the ancestor of the millions of domestic animals today.
Jacobi says the first water buffalo in Europe were brought here by Pannonian Avars, a group of somewhat mysterious Eurasian nomads who first arrived in the region in the 500s, shortly after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. In many communities across Eastern Europe, water buffalo were a common scene even into the 20th century.

*This image is copyright of its original author
A water buffalo in Sri Lanka. Domesticated water buffalo have been used across Asia for thousands of years – and showed up in Europe around 600 AD. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler.
But upheavals — political and economic — during the last hundred years nearly wiped out the Carpathians’ distinct domestic breed.
“[Water buffalo] are almost out of use. Just few dozens of animals are probably left in the household in Carpathians,” Kurakina says.
The water buffalo suffered under Communism, according to Kurakina. When the Soviets collectivized farms, the water buffalo lost their historical role in local communities and were brought together in massive herds, where Kurakina says they proved difficult to manage. Mass slaughter followed.
Jacobi says the transition to a free-market economy during the 1990s led to the slaughter of the remaining animals, which were not easily commoditized. When he came here ten years ago, the animal was almost gone.
The future of water buffalos in Ukraine, among other European countries, looked like one of extinction through obscurity.
‘Nature’s great engineers’
Today, though, there are glimmers of change.
Rewilding Europe decided to reintroduce a small herd of Jacobi’s water buffalos into the Danube for a number of reasons. First, they hoped it would draw tourists eager to see the massive, majestic animals — a bit of their lost megafauna reimagined — but more importantly, they believed the water buffalo would become engineers, enlivening the river.
Water buffalos, as their name suggests, are adapted to wet areas, the Asian species often found in river deltas and marshes. They can survive in river basins far better than regular cattle, making hay with even low-quality vegetation. These animals, which weigh from 270 to 450 kilograms (600 to 1,000 pounds), also create space for little things; they are biodiversity and abundance creators.
“These animals are one of nature’s great engineers,” Rewilding Ukraine team leader Mykhailo Nesterenko said in a press statement. “As large bovines they open up the scrub and reedbeds, creating pools and puddles which are home to many insects, amphibians and fish.”
They also spread seeds far and wide. According to Nesterenko, the water buffalo can disperse more than 200 plant species either via their hair or their droppings.
“We expect these magnificent animals to create habitats in the Danube Delta which no other living creature could,” he said.
Ermakov Island is the perfect habitat for these mega-water-loving-herbivores. Ten years ago, various organizations broke down dikes, allowing the island to undergo seasonal flooding. Now with the addition of water buffalo, this little corner of the Danube may see changes in its ecosystem that haven’t occurred in 10,000 years.
“When we mimic nature we can even reverse desertification and store carbon dioxide with buffalos,” Jacobi says.
Kurakina says Rewilding Ukraine plans to start studying the ecological impact of the water buffalos next year. The group has also introduced Konik horses onto the island, but Kurakina says the two animals tend to avoid each other. While it’s possible for the water buffalos to swim off the island, Kurakina says they “feel comfortable” on the island and have plenty of food.

*This image is copyright of its original author
Releasing the Konik horses. Photo by: Andrey Nekrasov / Rewilding Europe.
“Overall this is an experiment and we are also curious [to see the] results,” she says.
This isn’t the only project using water buffalo in Europe for rewilding. A small herd was released in Germany in 2011. But this is the first project in Ukraine and the first that involved Jacobi, the water buffalo whisperer.
The water buffalo whisperer
None of this would have happened without Michel Jacobi, whose discourse sounds more like that of a philosopher or poet than a rural farmer.
“You know,” he writes to me, “I see more hope in changing an innocent child than an old white patriarchic man earning his wealth by externalizing and colonialism and calling himself peaceful.”

*This image is copyright of its original author
Michel Jacobi get a good view from atop one of his water buffalo. Photo courtesy of Michel Jacobi.
Jacobi saw his first water buffalo while hiking through the Carpathian Mountains in 2004. The way he tells it, he was on a mission “to learn about small-scale farming” and a desire to integrate a “task” related to ecology and sustainability, while living a life largely independent of fossil fuels: something, he says, that’s no longer really possible in Germany.
When he discovered that this distinct breed of water buffalo was vanishing from the Carpathians, the young twenty-something found his mission.
He moved from Germany to Ukraine and began to collect disparate buffalo. He says most of the animals he gathered together were “traumatized.” Farmers, increasingly unfamiliar with the species, had treated them like cows, not water buffalo.
Jacobi says he could only find “a few very old ladies” who remembered “how to treat [the water buffalo] right.”
“The secret is patience, gentility, not violence,” he explains. “Like this, I spend lot of time with them. I became a shepherd, a friend, a student and finally part of the herd. I still do not use them for work. With me they are semi-wild and I protect the population against economic capriciousness.”
Despite water buffalos’ reputation for being fierce and volatile, Jacobi finds them highly intelligent and communal.
“I have been interested in ethology [the study of animal behavior] all my life and got fascinated right away by the multiplicity of communication and social interaction of this so-called primitive domestic breed,” he says.
He says water buffalo are more like elephants than cattle.
“Buffalo never forget, they life up to 40 years and I have a very deep relation with most of them,” he says. “I try not to force them too much, I try to learn from them and listen. They are so old and so deep, they resona[te] still from a different time, we now may call Saharasia or know it as Arcadia, where the worship of Pan began.”
Pan, of course, is the ancient Greek god of shepherds, including their music and their montane haunts. Part goat and part man, it may be said that Pan represents a kind of human-animal symbiosis. Pan is believed to have first been worshiped in Arcadia, a region of the Greek Peloponnese and a word that has become synonymous with a lost utopia or golden age.
Jacobi may have come to the Carpathians to rescue this rare breed of water buffalo, but he has since taken on other projects, including attempting to breed Tarpan horses and “breed back” the Mountain Rishca Cow of the Carpathians.
He says he learned much more than he anticipated.
“What I found is a much older community structure teaching me the real way of life,” he says.
He declines to call himself a “hermit” — he is, after all, on Facebook and YouTube, very active with the local community, and accepts volunteers — but says he “can’t stand the alienation” of the modern world.
“I cannot stand the contradiction between [the] Age of Enlightenment and [the] modern lifestyle; it feels like a backflip,” he tells me. “The modern world wants to be taken so seriously but is not sustainable at all.”

*This image is copyright of its original author
Michel Jacobi with a Ukrainian woman. Jacobi says he has learned much from the elders in the community. Photo courtesy of Michel Jacobi.
Jacobi has instead forged his own path, at once disconnected from the modern world and connected to something older, something, perhaps, pastoral and mythological. And he’s making it work — and, at the same time, providing a chance for the water buffalo of the Ukraine.
When the dawn comes, you can see Jacobi riding one of his chosen buffalo along with the rest of the herd up the Trans-Carpathians. And a thousand kilometers away, as the sun comes up over the Danube, their relatives graze among the reeds, the tadpoles, and the river.
If you blink, maybe this could be another world. A couple of hundred years ago. Or maybe twenty millennia. Whatever it is, Michel Jacobi and Rewilding Europe are creating an unexpected future.

https://news.mongabay.com/2019/10/why-is...r-buffalo/
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United Kingdom Sully Offline
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#22

Wild Steps in a semi-wild setting? Habitat selection and behavior of European bison reintroduced to an enclosure in an anthropogenic landscape

Abstract

Recently, several wild or semi-wild herds of European bison have been reintroduced across Europe. It is essential for future successful bison reintroductions to know how the European bison use different habitats, which environmental parameters drive their habitat selection, and whether their habitat use and behavioural patterns in new reintroduction sites differ from habitats where European bison have been roaming freely for a long time. Here, we address these questions for a 40-ha enclosed site that has been inhabited by semi-free ranging European bison since 2012. The site, Vorup Meadows, is adjacent to the Gudenå river in Denmark and consists of human-modified riparian meadows. During 2013 we monitored the behavioural pattern and spatial use of the 11 bison present and in parallel carried out floristic analyses to assess habitat structure and food quality in the enclosure. We tested habitat use and selection against environmental parameters such as habitat characteristics, plant community traits, topography, and management area (release area vs. meadow area) using linear regression and spatial models. The bison herd had comparable diurnal activity patterns as observed in previous studies on free-roaming bison herds. Topography emerged as the main predictor of the frequency of occurrence in our spatial models, with high-lying drier areas being used more. Bison did not prefer open areas over areas with tree cover when accounting for habitat availability. However, they spent significantly more time in the release area, a former agricultural field with supplementary fodder, than expected from availability compared to the rest of the enclosure, a meadow with tree patches. We wish to increase awareness of possible long-term ethological effects of the release site and the management protocols accomplished here that might reduce the ecological impact by the bison in the target habitat, and thereby compromise or even oppose the conservation goals of the conservation efforts.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/articl...ne.0198308
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#23

Picture from Scotland showing enclosed area free from overgrazing by deer as featured in Unlocking Nature's Secrets: Serengeti Rules 
 

*This image is copyright of its original author

We sorely need wolves/lynx back to do this for us
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#24

Here's a map of where you would expect to find rainforest growing in Britain.


*This image is copyright of its original author


https://kundoc.com/pdf-oceanic-and-tempe...brita.html
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#25

Great talk about the lack of biodiversity in Britain and how the general public has been tricked into thinking our barren landscapes are natural



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#26

Roe deer surveys support wolf comeback in Western Iberia

The surveying work will bring a greater understanding of the distribution and abundance of roe deer populations in Portugal’s Greater Côa Valley (part of the Western Iberia rewilding area). This is the first step in increasing the availability of natural prey for Iberian wolves.


*This image is copyright of its original author
The results of the roe deer surveying in Western Iberia will highlight the areas where the animals need most support.


More deer, improved coexistence
Today the endangered Portuguese Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus) population is in a precarious position. In addition to factors such as habitat loss, low connectivity between packs and conflict with humans, a lack of prey continues to hamper the animal’s ability to recover.
Wolves who are unable to find sufficient quantities of natural prey are also more likely to target livestock, which can lead to further problems. Studies have already shown that given a choice, Iberian wolves (a sub-species of grey wolf) prefer to prey on wild hooved animals such as roe deer and wild boar, rather than livestock.
One of the objectives of the LIFE Wolflux project– which kicked off at the beginning of 2019 and aims to promote the coexistence of people and wolves in northern Portugal’s Greater Côa Valley and south of the adjoining River Douro – is to assess roe deer density south of the river.
The results of the roe deer surveying will highlight the areas where the animals need most support. Support measures could include habitat improvement, efforts to enhance connectivity between deer sub-populations and improved game management, as well as targeted reintroductions and anti-poaching patrols. These will ultimately increase deer populations and provide more natural prey for wolves.

Monthly monitoring


*This image is copyright of its original author
Camera traps are one of the tools used for assessing deer density in transects.


As partners in the LIFE Wolflux project, the University of Aveiro and the Rewilding Portugal team have been carrying out monthly surveys of roe deer south of the Douro since the beginning of June. The programme is set to run until March 2020, at which point the data collected will be fully analysed and compiled into a report.
“We currently lack data on roe deer abundance and distribution in the study area,” explains Dr. João Carvalho of the University of Aveiro, the organisation heading up the monitoring work. “In addition to enabling better management of the species, results will help us to identify suitable sites for possible reintroductions. Management schemes should be preceded by debate among different stakeholders to increase the acceptance and effectiveness of any proposed measures.”

Initial feedback


*This image is copyright of its original author
The project area where the surveying work is being carried out.


So far surveying work has taken place at six different sites. Covering a total area of 5000 square kilometres, these have been characterised by different habitats and different levels of human presence. Deer density is assessed by installing temporary camera traps and couting droppings present in specifically sized transects.

The survey data collected so far, while it has yet to be fully processed, indicates roe deer are present throughout the sampling area at varying densities. The species has also been seen to prefer wooded habitat dominated by well-developed deciduous trees.

The work of the surveying team has also revealed the presence of wild boar across the sampling area, and a considerable diversity of mid-sized  carnivores, such as red fox, weasel, genet and badger.

 

Progressive project
Funded by the European Commission and co-funded by the Endangered Landscapes Programme, the aim of the LIFE WolFlux project is to promote the coexistence of people and Iberian wolves in the Greater Côa Valley and south of the River Douro. Project partners are now working to identify the main threats to the local wolf population to secure its long-term viability and boost animal numbers.
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#27

Convert half of UK farmland to nature, urges top scientist

Half of the nation’s farmland needs to be transformed into woodlands and natural habitat to fight the climate crisis and restore wildlife, according to a former chief scientific adviser to the UK government.

Prof Sir Ian Boyd said such a change could mean the amount of cattle and sheep would fall by 90%, with farmers instead being paid for storing carbon dioxide, helping prevent floods and providing beautiful landscapes where people could boost their health and wellbeing.

Boyd said the public were subsidising the livestock industry to produce huge environmental damage. The professor spent seven years at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs before stepping down in August. Half of farmland, mostly uplands and pasture, produces just 20% of the UK’s food and would be better for used other public goods, he said.

Boyd, who became vegetarian during his time in Defra, said farmers were potentially “sitting on a goldmine” in terms of the payments they could receive for growing trees and removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

He said: “We need a large, radical transformation and we need to do it quickly, in the next decade. You can tick an immense number of boxes simultaneously.”
Farmers argue that uplands and pasture where livestock are reared cannot be used to grow crops. But Boyd said: “It would be much better to store carbon and water, grow trees and make the land available for people to improve their health and welfare.”

He said the 20% of food production lost by converting half of farmland could be made up by the development of vertical farms, where food is produced indoors in controlled and more efficient conditions. Boyd said: “I know there are big companies looking at how to really scale this up.”


series of studies have concluded that people in rich nations need to eat much less meat to tackle the climate emergency and improve their health. “Most of the livestock production in the UK is unprofitable without public subsidy,” said Boyd. “The public are subsidising the production of livestock to produce huge environmental damages, all the way from greenhouse gas emissions to water pollution. Why should we continue to do that? It’s not sensible.

“If anybody asked me: ‘If there is one thing I can do to help save the planet, what would it be?’ I would say just eat a lot less meat. It’s the easiest thing to do. I’ve done it.”
People could reduce the meat they eat by 90% and have a perfectly balanced diet, Boyd said: “Freeing up 50% of the land would probably result in a reduction in the amount of livestock by about that amount, because it would be mostly livestock land we would be taking out of production.”

Farmers should be paid for changing the way land is used, he said. Current subsidies are largely based on the amount of land owned, but the government has pledged it will “move to a system based on public money for public goods” after the UK leaves the EU’s subsidy regime.

Farmland covers 70% of the UK, meaning that converting half to woodlands and parks would create new landscapes across a third of the country. In May, a report from Rewilding Britain called for a quarter of the nation to be returned to natural habitat.
The National Farmers Union recently published its plan to end the climate-heating emissions from agriculture by 2040. It said this could be done without cutting beef production or converting large areas of farmland into forest. Instead, the NFU said 75% of the UK’s agricultural emissions could be offset by growing plant fuel for power stations and then capturing and burying the carbon dioxide.

Responding to Boyd’s proposal, Guy Smith, the NFU’s deputy president, said: “Urgent action is needed to tackle the climate emergency. British farmers are already some of the most sustainable in the world. For example, the beef produced in Britain is already 2.5 times more efficient than the global average. And they are committed to doing even more.

“However, we will not halt climate change by curbing sustainable, British production and exporting it to countries which may not have the same climate ambition as we do here.”
Boyd said: “This proposal is not about being negative about farmers. It’s about being positive about their futures and helping them to adapt and continue providing support for society, but in a different way from in the past.”
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#28

(12-31-2019, 10:51 PM)Sully Wrote: Convert half of UK farmland to nature, urges top scientist

Half of the nation’s farmland needs to be transformed into woodlands and natural habitat to fight the climate crisis and restore wildlife, according to a former chief scientific adviser to the UK government.

Prof Sir Ian Boyd said such a change could mean the amount of cattle and sheep would fall by 90%, with farmers instead being paid for storing carbon dioxide, helping prevent floods and providing beautiful landscapes where people could boost their health and wellbeing.

Boyd said the public were subsidising the livestock industry to produce huge environmental damage. The professor spent seven years at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs before stepping down in August. Half of farmland, mostly uplands and pasture, produces just 20% of the UK’s food and would be better for used other public goods, he said.

Boyd, who became vegetarian during his time in Defra, said farmers were potentially “sitting on a goldmine” in terms of the payments they could receive for growing trees and removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

He said: “We need a large, radical transformation and we need to do it quickly, in the next decade. You can tick an immense number of boxes simultaneously.”
Farmers argue that uplands and pasture where livestock are reared cannot be used to grow crops. But Boyd said: “It would be much better to store carbon and water, grow trees and make the land available for people to improve their health and welfare.”

He said the 20% of food production lost by converting half of farmland could be made up by the development of vertical farms, where food is produced indoors in controlled and more efficient conditions. Boyd said: “I know there are big companies looking at how to really scale this up.”


series of studies have concluded that people in rich nations need to eat much less meat to tackle the climate emergency and improve their health. “Most of the livestock production in the UK is unprofitable without public subsidy,” said Boyd. “The public are subsidising the production of livestock to produce huge environmental damages, all the way from greenhouse gas emissions to water pollution. Why should we continue to do that? It’s not sensible.

“If anybody asked me: ‘If there is one thing I can do to help save the planet, what would it be?’ I would say just eat a lot less meat. It’s the easiest thing to do. I’ve done it.”
People could reduce the meat they eat by 90% and have a perfectly balanced diet, Boyd said: “Freeing up 50% of the land would probably result in a reduction in the amount of livestock by about that amount, because it would be mostly livestock land we would be taking out of production.”

Farmers should be paid for changing the way land is used, he said. Current subsidies are largely based on the amount of land owned, but the government has pledged it will “move to a system based on public money for public goods” after the UK leaves the EU’s subsidy regime.

Farmland covers 70% of the UK, meaning that converting half to woodlands and parks would create new landscapes across a third of the country. In May, a report from Rewilding Britain called for a quarter of the nation to be returned to natural habitat.
The National Farmers Union recently published its plan to end the climate-heating emissions from agriculture by 2040. It said this could be done without cutting beef production or converting large areas of farmland into forest. Instead, the NFU said 75% of the UK’s agricultural emissions could be offset by growing plant fuel for power stations and then capturing and burying the carbon dioxide.

Responding to Boyd’s proposal, Guy Smith, the NFU’s deputy president, said: “Urgent action is needed to tackle the climate emergency. British farmers are already some of the most sustainable in the world. For example, the beef produced in Britain is already 2.5 times more efficient than the global average. And they are committed to doing even more.

“However, we will not halt climate change by curbing sustainable, British production and exporting it to countries which may not have the same climate ambition as we do here.”
Boyd said: “This proposal is not about being negative about farmers. It’s about being positive about their futures and helping them to adapt and continue providing support for society, but in a different way from in the past.”

Yeah, that's gonna happen... But agro-forestry is another thing. 
Why have tea never been tried at your place? Moist, damp, frequent spells of light rain, weak sun in between are all the basic requirements. A proper tea-garden looks like a open forest from above. 

*This image is copyright of its original author
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United Kingdom Sully Offline
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#29

I dont think the rain is consistent enough really
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#30
( This post was last modified: 01-03-2020, 08:14 PM by Sully )

England’s first wild beaver colony in centuries is ‘helping communities and climate`

England’s first beavers to live in the wild in 400 years are positively affecting the community and the environment, experts have said.

The animals, who unexpectedly appeared along the River Otter in Devon more than a decade ago, are being monitored to determine whether they benefit the local area and should continue living there.


The beavers have significantly reduced water flow, a researcher has said, which means their dams can potentially reduce the risk of flooding. 

Professor Richard Brazier from the University of Exeter said research shows plant and animal life is also flourishing in their ponds, which catch sediment and inorganic fertilisers washed from farmland.


The beavers have also drawn tourists to the area, helping local commerce.

Wild beavers became extinct from hunting in Britain about four centuries ago, until a colony – believed to have escaped from captivity in about 2005 – was spotted along the Devon river. 

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) was initially concerned as it had not sanctioned the release of beavers into the wild and was worried about disease. 


After the animals were tested as healthy, Natural England allowed the beavers to live freely along the river as part of a five-year trial to assess whether they positively affect the environment. 

A Defra spokesperson said: “We are committed to reintroducing formerly native species, including beavers, where there are clear environmental and socio-economic benefits. A decision on any future work following the River Otter project will be taken after its conclusion.”


Devon Wildlife Trust’s Mark Elliott said the mammals have created “beautiful areas of new habitat”, benefiting water voles, otters and wading birds such as snipe and woodcock.

“It’s been really beneficial from a conservation point of view,” he said.

However, Prof Brazier said there are some downsides, such as beavers targeting orchard trees and causing localised flooding for landowners.


Claire Robinson from the National Farmers’ Union said there are concerns about the “potential damage to farmland and the landscape caused by [beavers’] physical activities”.

She said: “It is crucial that farmers have the tools to manage any impacts a beaver reintroduction could have.”

The trial for the Devon beavers will come to an end this year. 
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