From Beavers to Bison: Celebrating Rewilding Wins in the UK

by Beth Clayton

Due to years of human destruction, the UK is “one of the most nature-depleted countries in Europe.” (1)  Animals are on the brink of extinction and what was abundant thriving ecosystems are now barren landscapes.

Whilst I could write pages on the doom and gloom of our situation, I am instead going to tell you what rewilding is about and immerse you in some incredible projects happening around the UK. From bison calves being born, to wild beavers being released.  Let's celebrate the wins and learn all about rewilding. 

What is Rewilding?

The term rewilding is often used in tandem with conservation. Conservation is a focus on restoring something back to its original state for mankind’s benefit whereas rewilding seeks to break down human-centric attitudes towards nature by letting it take the driving seat. It involves no longer seeing animals as resources to be controlled or exploited, but instead as integral parts of thriving ecosystems. In reality, this means changing barren landscapes, such as those that were previously used for livestock farming, to a wild state that is imperfect and always changing in ways humans can’t predict. 

Our founder, Kate Fox, says the following about rewilding. 

"There was a time when Nature was in charge of its own destiny and wildlife flourished. After centuries of relentless exploitation and well-meaning interventions, it's sad to know the UK is so depleted of wildlife. Rewilding, in the right hands, can offer a progressive solution to wildlife conservation. It is about relinquishing human control and putting Nature back in charge. To do this, we must accept that the natural world can be messy and might not showcase our favourite animals. But the results will be spectacular."

Water vole (Arvicola amphibious) in Salisbury, UK. Courtesy of Kate Fox, Founder of Verify Humanity.

Why Rewilding Matters 

To visually see why rewilding matters so much, take a look at this graphic below. It’s clear to see the impact of the human and nature disconnect with only 4% of the global mammal biomass coming from wild mammals. 

Courtesy of Our World In Data 

So far you may be feeling a bit disheartened at the UK’s situation.  But I want to share with you that there are amazing people out there doing amazing things. From people who are buying land to let nature work its magic, to groups who are bringing back once extinct mammals to barren landscapes. There are some truly wonderful things happening. 

Rewilding Wins: Success Stories Across the UK

Rewilding Britain is a charity that urgently wants to see an expansion of nature’s recovery across Britain. They are looking for a world where our soils are healthy, our rivers are clean, and our land and seas are rich and diverse.  Because of the funding Rewilding Britain raised, we can celebrate the below wins for wildlife. 

At the Wilder Blean (3) rewilding project in Kent, they welcomed two new Bison calves to their herd in October 2024.

European Bison (Bison bonasus)

Bison are known as ecosystem engineers, helping other species to thrive through their natural behaviours. They like grasslands, wetlands, woodlands and a good watering hole. 

European Bison (Bison bonasus) calf and Mum at Wilder Blean, Kent. Image courtesy of Kent Wildlife Trust

What happened to them?

Although European Bison are not native to Britain, their close relative, the extinct forest bison (Bison schoetensacki) was in Britain during the Pleistocene.

Rewilding Win

Bison encourage woodland regeneration by opening up the forest canopy which brings light to the forest floor. They do this by creating corridors through dense woodland due to their sheer size. They also create standing deadwood by stripping bark from trees. This attracts invertebrates and birds and they also benefit amphibians and burrowing insects from their dustbathing sites. 

I was fortunate to hear from the Kent Wildlife Trust and their Bison and Conservation Grazing Ranger Hannah Mackins. 

“The bison are having a huge impact in West Blean. The reserve is teeming with life in areas that were once in darkness, and you can feel a renewed energy in the woodland. 

“Everywhere you look, there are success stories of nature's resilience – from seeing dung beetle larvae to the monitoring programme discovering species of insects we thought were extinct regionally.  

“This project shows the incredible power of nature to heal and gives us hope for the future."

The Lifescape Project (4) is exploring the possibility of bringing White-tailed Eagles back to Cumbria

White-tailed Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla)

They are Britain’s largest native bird of prey and have a wingspan of up to 2.5 metres. They play a vital role in nutrient cycling, moving nutrients between marine and terrestrial ecosystems.

 Image of a White-Tailed Eagle fishing. Courtesy of ©Tony - tickpics.com

Rewilding Win

They were successfully reintroduced on the West coast of Scotland in 1975 and there are now estimated to be 152 pairs across Scotland. There have also been 37 eagles released from the Isle of Wight over the last few years.  The southern half of Cumbria has an ideal habitat for white-tailed eagles, with woodlands providing breeding sites, productive lakes and coastlines providing food.  

This area also has the lowest risk from infrastructure such as wind turbines. Online and in-person events are taking place in Cumbria providing a chance for people to find out more about white-tailed eagles and this project.  They also provide opportunities to share opinions on bringing the eagles back to this stepping stone between the south of England and Scotland.

Dr Deborah Brady, Lead Ecologist at The Lifescape Project says ‘We’re really keen to hear people’s thoughts and opinions about the idea of having the eagles back in the Cumbrian landscape. People can share their views through a questionnaire on our website.’

A huge thank you to Rewilding Britain for providing all of this positive news! At the tail-end of 2024, they hit a milestone of welcoming over 1,000 rewilding members to their Rewilding Network. Check out their website to see more: https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/. 

Now, we can’t finish up on rewilding wins in the UK without mentioning the iconic Eurasian Beaver! 

In February 2025, the government (5) announced its commitment to reintroducing Beavers into the wild.

Eurasian Beaver (Castor fiber)

Also known as nature's original master builders, beavers increase biodiversity and help restore lost wetland habitats.  They do this by building dams in small streams which slows the flow of water which in turn creates these dynamic wetland habitats. 

Eurasian Beaver (Castor fiber). Image courtesy of Michael Symes, Devon Wildlife Trust

What happened to them?

They were once abundant in England but became extinct in the 16th century due to overhunting.

Rewilding Win

In recent years, beavers have been returning to our waterways through a system of licensed releases into enclosures, and a limited trial of wild release in Devon. However, now the Government has set out a new approach which will allow beavers to live wild in England’s treasured landscapes!

I had the opportunity to communicate with The Devon Wildlife Trust (6) and they said the following: 

"The UK has lost more than 90% of its wetlands, but beavers and their dam building behaviour help restore these precious habitats. This benefits a huge range of wildlife - from dragonflies and water beetles to frogs, kingfishers and otters. In Devon, our work with beavers has shown their their presence provides the ideal conditions for other species to flourish."

Conclusion

We can have a future where we are working with nature and not against it. To get there, we need to do this together. Let's keep the momentum going with all the positive rewilding wins and get more of our animals thriving in the UK!

If you want to see how you can make an impact yourself, Philip Kratz has a great article about Compassionate Gardening coming out soon which can help you do your bit for our beautiful planet. 

Sources

1. Natural History Museum. Science News - UK has ‘led the world’ in destroying the Natural Environment by Josh Davis (2020) Available at https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2020/september/uk-has-led-the-world-in-destroying-the-natural-environment.html 

2. Ritchie, H. and Auerbach K. (2022) - Our World in Data - Wild mammals make up only a few percent of the world’s mammals. Available at https://ourworldindata.org/wild-mammals-birds-biomass

3. Wilder Blean, Kent Wildlife Trust. Available at https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/wilder-blean-press-pack 

4. White-tailed Eagles, Lifescape Project. Available at https://lifescapeproject.org/projects/white-tailed-eagles/ 

5. Beaver wild release. Gov.uk. Available at https://naturalengland.blog.gov.uk/2025/02/28/beaver-wild-release-a-milestone-for-nature-recovery-in-england https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ 

6. Beavers, Devon Wildlife Trust. Available at:  https://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/beavers