By Sam Marsden
All but one of 37 key species of mammal and birds examined by researchers have increased in abundance since the 1960s, marking a reversal in sharp population falls recorded over previous centuries.
Some animals have seen dramatic rises in numbers, with the Eurasian beaver up by more than 14,000 per cent.
The European bison, which was extinct in the wild in Europe at the start of the 20th century, has increased by more than 3,000 per cent after a large-scale breeding and reintroduction programme. It now has particular strongholds in Belarus and Poland.
Brown bear numbers have doubled and the grey wolf population of Europe quadrupled between 1970 and 2005.
There were also sharp rises in numbers of several species of bird, including the Svalbard breeding population of the barnacle goose, the white-tailed eagle and the Spanish imperial eagle.
The researchers put the revivals in numbers down to improved protection for wildlife by the European Union and national governments, reduced hunting and the banning of some toxic chemicals.
Out of the species investigated in the study, only the Iberian lynx declined over this period. Once found throughout the Iberian Peninsula, it is currently extinct in Portugal and limited to two areas in southern Spain.
The report, Wildlife Comeback in Europe, was commissioned by Rewilding Europe and features research carried out by the Zoological Society of London, BirdLife International and the European Bird Census Council.
Frans Schepers, managing director of Rewilding Europe, said: “Increasing efforts over the last 50 years of the European Union, of national and local governments, conservation organisations, research institutions and private individuals to protect and restore habitats and species, and actively bring them back, is now beginning to yield results.
“Although the total biodiversity in Europe is still decreasing, many of the larger wildlife and bird species are coming back or show the first signs of that.”
He added: “Wildlife will fairly quickly bounce back if we allow it to – this report shows that.
“With a continued and strong legal protection, an active boosting of existing wildlife populations or by reintroductions setting up new ones, a growing nature and wildlife-based tourism offer, combined with an increasing tolerance towards wildlife, more species will surely follow.”