Large fenced reserves an effective way to bring wolves back to Scotland

Date:  June 13, 2018

Source:  University of Sussex

Research, led by the University of Sussex and the University of Kent, indicates that for wolves to be effective at directly reducing red deer numbers and allowing nature to recover in the Scottish Highlands they may need to be reintroduced to very large fenced reserve.

A fenced area, which would also help limit encounters with residents, farmers and workers in the Scottish Highlands, would give the reintroduced grey wolf the opportunity to achieve the high population densities (e.g. 80 wolves per 1000 km2) required to directly reduce the very high red deer numbers that are currently create an over-grazing problem in the Highlands.

The current high red deer densities (up to 40 deer/km2) are preventing tree regeneration and ecosystem restoration in parts of Scotland with more than one third of all native woodlands in an unfavourable condition because of herbivore impacts.

Dr Christopher Sandom, lecturer in biology at the University of Sussex with a particular interest in rewilding, said: "Reintroducing the wolf has long been suggested as part of the solution to large red deer populations but there will always be concerns about how wolves interact with people in any rewilding project like this. This research shows that they could actually have an extremely beneficial impact in terms of making the rewilding process more effective."

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