Rewilding Wolves: the Benefits and Challenges of Reintroducing an Apex Predator to Britain

Author: Sydney Perry.

Of all the large carnivorous mammals that used to live in the UK, very few capture the public imagination in the way that wolves do. More so than the elusive lynx, and perhaps with greater familiarity - through their descendants, the dogs - to us than bears, wolves are one of the focal points around which the debates over rewilding often come together. Many people find them wondering what wild wolves in England would look like, or enjoy the thought of a den of wolf cubs cuddling up to each other. Nevertheless, proper wolf habitat is rare in Great Britain, and few laypeople understand just what reintroducing wolves would involve, due to a phenomenon called shifting baseline syndrome. 

This is the process by which our reference point for what a normal, healthy ecosystem looks like changes over time, meaning that in times of decline, we become habituated to the presence of dysfunction around us and are in fact less likely to recognise it as such. The ecosystems of the British Isles at the time of the Roman invasion - where the ancient Celts would have encountered wolves, bears, lynx, and many other animals that are not seen today - would be almost unrecognisable to our current generation - or even to someone living 100 years ago.

Furthermore, this process still occurs over a shorter time frame, and the last wolf in England was killed in the 1600s, although numbers had been in decline long before then. What does it mean for the ecosystem now if it has gone 500 years with the absence of a main predator? And what does this mean in the context of potential reintroduction attempts?

We can look to the reintroduction of wolves in other ecosystems to predict what might happen if they return to the UK. In fact, one of the main examples of this is Yellowstone National Park, in the USA, where the reintroduction of wolves triggered a trophic cascade that also saw the park’s number of healthy beaver colonies increase - from 1 to 9. 

What happened? The presence of wolves meant that elk became more cautious and spent less time browsing by river banks and more time retreating into forested areas. This meant there was less risk of them overbrowsing trees like willow and aspen - and as willow is crucial for beaver survival in the winter, this had a knock-on effect that allowed beaver populations to recover. In addition, it created healthier cottonwood, aspen, and will stands, improving habitats along the riverbanks. 

A wolf with a reddish-brown coat, prowling through the snow © Marcel Langthim

Are there wolves in the UK?

Unfortunately, the answer to ‘does England have wolves?’ - or even Scotland, for that matter, is a resounding no. Reintroducing wolves to the UK would be a much more complex endeavour than the reintroduction in Yellowstone. For starters, there is much more at stake in the UK because locals, especially farmers, are - sometimes justifiably - scared of the dangers that wolves pose. This can be either to themselves, to their animals, or to pets such as dogs and cats. 

The UK has a number of diverse landscapes that could potentially be considered to reintroduce wolves into. This is so that they do not come into conflict with farm livestock. For example, many places in the Scottish highlands are not suitable for browsing animals and instead could benefit from the reintroduction of wolves to keep deer numbers down. It is difficult to predict what ecosystem cascade effects this could have, but some educated guesses are possible to make. 

There are multiple projects in the UK which deal with the practicalities of what it would be like to have these apex predators on UK land. Whilst there is often some hesitancy from dog owners and others who worry about what wolves might do to their animals, there is also plenty of evidence that these animals play a crucial role in the ecosystem and that, when absent, lead to a large loss of and decline in biodiversity. 

Paul Lister, on-site at Alladale Nature Reserve © pressandjournal.co.uk

In fact, there is one man who may have the chance to carry on the legacy of the last wolf in Britain - Paul Lister, Laird of Alladale, has a bold wolf project that involves fencing off his estate and turning it into a rewilded wolf habitat. Here, tourists would be able to see wild wolves, wolf cubs, and learn about the habitat of these creatures. 

What would this mean? Reduced deer numbers, and warier deer can result in trees - especially young saplings - being browsed much less. This in turn has the potential to regenerate old-growth forests and provide habitat for other endangered animals such as the pine marten. Furthermore, more natural and holistic management of forests can potentially lead to the reintroduction of other species becoming viable - such as wild boar. One thing is for sure - the reintroduction of wolves is a polarising point within the wider sphere of rewilding - but one that never fails to generate interest and thought from nature lovers around the country.