View allAll Photos Tagged Rewilding
At the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre, South Africa 2018. The following text is copyright of HESC. Cheetah populations are genetically very uniform or monomorphic. Wild cheetahs often occur in small isolated or patch populations that lead to further narrowing of the gene pool. Therefore, HESC’s breeding programme aims to ensure the birth of cheetahs with distinctly different genetic lineages. Where possible these animals are used to support gene diversity in wild populations.
Cheetahs that have been bred in captivity can be released in protected areas in the wild after the animals have gone through a process of adjustment or ‘rewilding’. During this period the animals are transferred to large enclosed areas which have a suitable prey base in a habitat of mixed open savanna and grassland, as cheetahs prefer open areas to hunt. Then the rations fed to the animals are reduced over time so as to entice them to hunt natural prey. The animals need to be closely monitored during this time to evaluate their suitability for possible reintroduction. It is preferable that the wilding area is free of predators , or has a low population of predators that may prey upon the cheetahs as captive bred animals will need time to adapt and become aware of the threat to survival that other predators may represent.
Another shot of the bird (Z9404) that dropped in on the levels a few weeks ago. A female ringed in the nest as a chick at Opacz, in the Vistula valley just south of Warsaw, Poland. And has spent a bit of time at the Knepp Castle Rewilding Project after being found sick... . A more complete history here: www.portlandbirdobs.com/2017/10/6th-october.html?m=1
Glen Dho .. the remnants of a caledonian pinewood just about hanging on .. the future is perhaps brighter in this neck of the woods as this area is encompassed within the Affric Highlands rewilding area .. there's already some large deer enclosures up the the glen (you can see one on the far slope behind) which are reclothing the glen sides from their barren state .. nice to see. It'd be wonderful to see a landscape whereby the numbers of deer are such that regeneration can actually thrive .. there's a balance to be had somewhere, again perhaps in the future
It is a real Timber wolf in a forest in Northern Scotland. But currently living within a secure enclosure (Kincraig Highland Wildlife Park) Yet there are several influential voices saying it is our moral responsibility to re-introduce wolves into our local environments. I'm of the "No, fucking chance persuasion" but no doubt there are enough do-gooders and environmental just stop oil idiots who don't care how dangerous they make our planet. I suppose that makes me a NIMBY, but hey, why not set a pack of wolves on those Just Stop Oil protesters, and see if they move a bit quicker, instead of setting the pack on poor old Philip Schofield?
Well, I say Faversham, a small village a few miles outside, wild, well growing in a friends lawn in his garden that he has been rewilding for a while, just came up one day!
Another success in the rewilding strip. Next years task is to learn the names of these wild flowers as they come up.
The handsome father of the first White Stork chics to be born in Britain for over 600 years...I think he looks quite proud!❤️☺️
Long Point Ranch, now a bird sanctuary and educational center operated by the James B. Harrison Foundation, which restricts access—requiring an appointment and a damage waiver. Taken while directing traffic for the Spring 2024 Texas Master Naturalist Coastal Prairie Chapter Ornithology class.
Provia, SOOC.
Happy Fog Friday!
Laura spotted this juvenile brown bear first. I never saw it as it was standing perfectly still. It wasn't scared of us at all but neither was it aggressive. We withdrew quietly and calmly and warned the other visitors in the cemetery. We all then left together.
A monochrome portrait catching the backlight from the early morning sun which was just breaking through the trees.
One of a herd of Exmoor ponies that are part of a re-wilding project on Benshaw Moor, new Elsdon in the Northumberland National Park
I went to my kitchen to rinse a cup and looked out of my window to see this. Lovely to see and makes me feel less guilty, proud even, to not have mowed my lawn all year. If it means wildlife like this feels at home then I'm happy to continue to re-wild.
We sowed a wild woodland meadow as part of the rewilding and up came some beautiful borage here covered in rain drops. The weather is only going to get worse from Thursday so tomorow and Wednesday its "on-u-bike" and off to see how my local Monkey, Fly and Lady Orchids are doing, maybe a quick look at the Birds-nest and Butterfly Orchids too....
These botanical photographs are part of a series of Erythronium revolutum pictures (as well as drawings and watercolor) that will be completed after the growing season in 2022. These ephemeral woodland flowers can be found at Darts Hill Garden, High Knoll Park and other locations in Surrey. They can also be found in the wild along coastal BC, Vancouver Island and continuing south along the coast to California. The plant likes moist meadows, woodlands and streamsides.
The Erythronium revolutum takes up to 7 years to flower. The first year the seed sprout resembles a blade of grass. A small leaf appears the second year and the plant continues to get larger and develop a bigger corm or bulb with each year. It can take up to 7 years for the bulb to get strong enough to support a flower.
This is a place I walk past every day. In the summer you can smell the scent of the mire. It's a very special scent and I would like to know where it comes from. Do you know what I'm talking about? It appears suddenly sometimes when you are close to mires and it only takes a moment before the nose/brain gets used to it and then its gone. So if anyone knows what causes the scent please let me know.
Rough lands, having just traversed it from the other side, in the vast area above the house. A good place to just sit and watch and maybe an eagle will float past :)
In the coastal nature reserve of Oranjezon near Vrouwenpolder, Konik horses roam freely through the windswept dunes and grassy valleys. These semi-wild grazers play a vital role in maintaining biodiversity: their grazing patterns shape the landscape, their hoofprints create microhabitats, and their dung nourishes insects, which in turn feed birds and amphibians.
This image captures a solitary Konik horse standing on a rugged hillside, framed by the muted tones of an overcast sky and the resilient flora of Zeeland.
Visitors to Oranjezon may encounter these majestic animals along marked trails like the Parnassia Route. Always keep a respectful distance—these are wild horses, not pets.
The "revolutum" part of the name does not mean revolting but is a reference to the petals tendency to fold back or revolve around the flower as it matures.
Following Linnaeus's first descriptions of the species, several tiger specimens were described and proposed as subspecies. The validity of several tiger subspecies was questioned in 1999. Most putative subspecies described in the 19th and 20th centuries were distinguished on basis of fur length and colouration, striping patterns and body size, hence characteristics that vary widely within populations. Morphologically, tigers from different regions vary little, and gene flow between populations in those regions is considered to have been possible during the Pleistocene. Therefore, it was proposed to recognize only two tiger subspecies as valid, namely P. t. tigris in mainland Asia, and P. t. sondaica in the Greater Sunda Islands.
Results of craniological analysis of 111 tiger skulls from Southeast Asian range countries indicate that Sumatran tiger skulls differ from Indochinese and Javan tiger skulls, whereas Bali tiger skulls are similar in size to Javan tiger skulls. The authors proposed to classify the Sumatran and Javan tigers as distinct species, P. sumatrae and P. sondaica, with the Bali tiger as subspecies P. sondaica balica.
In 2015, morphological, ecological, and molecular traits of all putative tiger subspecies were analysed in a combined approach. Results support distinction of the two evolutionary groups continental and Sunda tigers. The authors proposed recognition of only two subspecies, namely P. t. tigris comprising the Bengal, Malayan, Indochinese, South Chinese, Siberian and Caspian tiger populations, and P. t. sondaica comprising the Javan, Bali and Sumatran tiger populations. The authors also noted that this reclassification will affect tiger conservation management. The nominate subspecies P. t. tigris constitutes two clades:
a northern clade composed of the Siberian and Caspian tiger populations
a southern clade composed of all other mainland populations.
One conservation specialist welcomed this proposal as it would make captive breeding programmes and future rewilding of zoo-born tigers easier. One geneticist was sceptical of this study and maintained that the currently recognised nine subspecies can be distinguished genetically.
In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group revised felid taxonomy and recognized the tiger populations in continental Asia as P. t. tigris, and those in the Sunda Islands as P. t. sondaica. This two-subspecies view has been largely rejected by researchers. Results of a 2018 whole-genome sequencing of 32 specimens support six monophyletic tiger clades corresponding with the living subspecies and indicate that the most recent common ancestor lived about 110,000 years ago. The following tables are based on the classification of the species Panthera tigris provided in Mammal Species of the World. It also reflects the classification used by the Cat Classification Task Force in 2017
Thanks to a bit of accidental rewilding, I can now enjoy a view off this dog rose climbing up a holly tree from my home office window
Thank you to all of you that have viewed, faved and commented, it is very much appreciated.
Knepp Wildland Estate (UK)
Knepp is a 3,500 acre estate just south of Horsham, West Sussex. Since 2001, the land – once intensively farmed - has been devoted to a pioneering rewilding project. Using grazing animals as the drivers of habitat creation, and with the restoration of dynamic, natural water courses, the project has seen extraordinary increases in wildlife. Extremely rare species like turtle doves, nightingales, peregrine falcons and purple emperor butterflies are now breeding here; and populations of more common species are rocketing.
The vision of the Knepp Wildland Project is radically different to conventional nature conservation in that it is not driven by specific goals or target species. Instead, its driving principle is to establish a functioning ecosystem where nature is given as much freedom as possible. The aim is to show how a ‘process-led’ approach can be a highly effective, low-cost method of ecological restoration - suitable for failing or abandoned farmland - that can work to support established nature reserves and wildlife sites, helping to provide the webbing that will one day connect them together on a landscape scale.
GWT Coombe Hill.
When not too abundant, roe deer are an important participant in woodland life, creating discrete, small-scale disturbances and sculpting the development of open shrublands and the woodland understory. They habitually beat well-worn paths, loved by feeding song thrushes and dunnocks. Their faeces attract various invertebrates. They create small scrapes of disturbed soil with their hooves, which invertebrates dig at and bask in. (Rewilding Britain).
A mother Roe Deer (Doe) with two of her three fawns. Taken earlier in the summer.
My thanks to anyone who clicks or comments. It is much appreciated.
A rock quarry converted to an enchanted garden by a visionary homeowner, and still maintained by her family. If you are also a visionary, but lack Jennie Butchart’s resources, you still be environmentally friendly with native plants,
And/or by supporting rewilding,
A female brown antechinus (also known as a 'Marsupial Mouse') and her babies were spotted in my yard recently. I was over the moon to see her and her little ones!
Antechinuses primarily eat insects and some wildflowers. I am so pleased to see that the rewilding of my garden with native, local plants is working to attract more insects, and in turn, other creatures they have co-evolved with over millions of years.