Fantastic beasts are returning to Europe: a story about wolves
Tom Diserenes
Wildlife conservation is not known for its success stories. But in Europe, little noticed, we’re
living through a most remarkable event in natural history: the return of large carnivores to
our forests. These most iconic animals, the wolf, the bear, the majestic lynx and the mysteri-
ous wolverine were, over centuries, pushed to the verge of extinction through relentless
persecution. This decimation finally came to an end at the turn of the last millennium, by
which point these icons were restricted to only the wildest parts of our continent – the re-
mote eastern forests and highest mountains. Recently, and somewhat unexpectedly, strict
legal protection has driven the recovery of their populations on a remarkable scale. Even
countries as far west and as densely populated as the Netherlands and Denmark now have
resident wolf packs. In just a few short years our forests have become a little wilder.
Of these iconic species, the wolf has been by far the most successful. Surprisingly adept at
living in Europe’s human-dominated landscapes, he has even settled in suburban forests
criss-crossed by busy road networks. One of the highlights exemplifying this is the return of
wolves after an absence of over 50 years wolves to two heavily managed forests − Kampinos
and Bolimów Forests – on the outskirts of Warsaw, Poland’s capital city. This adaptability is
what makes the wolf’s story remarkable – we are only required to stop