ST201905

Back from

the brink

T

hefortunesofotter**,

pinemartenandpolecat

populationsinBritainhave

“markedlyimproved”since

the1960s,accordingtonewresearch.

Eachhasbouncedbackfromnear

extinction,meaningtheonly

carnivorousmammalthatremainsin

dangerofbeingwipedoutinBritain

isthewildcat.ItsScottishpopulation

isatriskfromhybridisationwith

domesticcats.

Thefindingscameina report

releasedearlierthisyearbyscientists

atExeterUniversity,VincentWildlife

TrustandtheCentreforEcology&

Hydrology.Theydiscoveredthat

ottershavealmostcompletely

recolonisedGreatBritain,polecats

haveexpandedtheirrangein

southernBritainfromWales,andpine

martenshaveexpandedtheirrange

fromtheScottishHighlands.

Badgerpopulationsareestimatedto

havedoubledsincethe1980s,helped

bya declineinpersecutionsincetheir

legalprotectionin 1973 andprotection

ofsettsin1992.Foxes,weaselsand

stoatsalsoenjoyimprovedfortunes.

Thecarnivoresmentioned

recoveredoftenunexpectedlyquickly

whenharmfulhumanactivities

ceased.Theseinclude control by

gamekeepers,hunting and the use

oftoxicchemicals.

“Unlikemostcarnivores across

theworld,whicharedeclining rapidly,

Britishcarnivoresdeclined to their

lowpointsdecadesago and are now

bouncingback,”saidlead author

KatieSainsbury,a PhD researcher

attheEnvironmentand Sustainability

InstituteattheUniversity of Exeter.

“Carnivoreshaverecovered in a way

thatwouldhaveseemed highly unlikely

inthe1970s,whenextinction of some

specieslookedlikea real possibility.”

Sainsburyandhercolleagues

collectedsurveyreports dating back

ONCE-ENDANGERED

CARNIVOROUSSPECIES

SUCHASOTTERSAND

POLECATSAREMAKINGA

REMARKABLECOMBEBACK

ByGAVINHAINES

GOOD THINGS

POSITIVE NEWS* FROM AROUND THE WORLD

40 years, comparing species’

distribution and populations, as

well as human activity.

The report’s authors warned

that, while carnivore populations

have recovered in the past 50 years,

most remain at long-term historical

lows. There is much more scope

for recovery in distribution and

density, they emphasise. “Better

understanding of the social aspects

of interactions between humans

and expanding predator populations

is needed if conf lict is to be avoided

and long-term coexistence with

people is to be possible,” read the

study’s conclusion.

Let it be: Guess

what? When we

stop bothering

or killing them,

otters come back

* Read an appreciation of the otter on page 54.

GAZETTE