REWILDING EUROPE: Recreating the European Serengeti

[@Eco-Nerd]

Hey guys, when I made this video, I didn't know anything about video editing so the sound is far from perfect. If you're listening on headphones the voice-over will be in one ear and the music in the other and overall it'll be quiet so please just turn up the volume! Hope it's still okay for you 😎

[@Lurts99]

Great video. One species you forgot to mention is the Barbary Macaque. Fossil remains show it was once found as far north as Great Britain and East to Germany at least. They are cold tolerant, able to withstand deep snow to this very day in their existing range in the Atlas Mountains.

[@rcco4556]

They were reintroduced into Britain in the 1960s

[@Lurts99]

@@rcco4556 Explain...

[@rcco4556]

@@Lurts99 Windrush

[@Pabloyo820]

In fact, there are currently Barbary macaques in the Iberian Peninsula, specifically in Gibraltar.

[@hyenajokes]

@@rcco4556 😂😂😐

[@stefanleu9246]

The proper cats to re-introduce to Europe are the Indian Lion, which was native to the Balkans until 2000 years ago, and the Anatolian or Persian Leopard, could be introduced for example in central Spain where horses, bison and Aurochs are being introduced as we speak, could ultimately give rise to a real Serengeti-like ecosystem. The only problem - would the population agree?

[@purplehaze2358]

Y'know, I think Chernobyl should remain an exclusion zone even after it becomes habitable again. It's an organic wildlife sanctuary that's just about the only example of accidental and _successful_ full-scale rewilding I can think of.

[@1fishmob]

I wouldn't mind seeing an episode about the Australian srengeti. That's always a hot topic.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@1fishmob it's on my list 😊

[@1fishmob]

@@Eco-Nerd Cool! I think it'll be interesting because there really isn't any consensus when it comes to possible proxy rewilding. Komodo Dragons and Camels for Palorchestes are common ones, and there have been attempts. But it'll interesting to see a video on this subject.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@1fishmob yeah it's a unique place so there's a huge risk with introducing predators because if Australia loses an animal, the world loses that animal but it's also fascinating to see what would happen if proxies were brought in to replace the megafauna they lost

[@1fishmob]

@@Eco-Nerd I actually discussed this once on a rewilding group once. If you ever need ideas, I can share some of mine.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@1fishmob thanks 😊

[@arcticlion7794]

technically there are still wild leopards in geographic Europe in the Caucasian mountain. Their is even a small population in the sotchi national park close to the Black Sea.

[@Eco-Nerd]

That's really cool! I hadn't thought about them still technically being in Europe!

[@jthomas8263]

Lowland European Bison - Proxy of the Carpathian European Bison, and Przewalski's Horse were Reintroduced to the Danube Delta's Tarutino Steppe alongside Kulan and Saiga.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@jthomas8263 Yep, that's an amazing project!!

[@deatherutts]

All that is good but only future can tell

[@bardroyal]

Let's hope

[@jointcerulean3350]

Phenomenal video! Awesome seeing videos on rewilding, and Europe rewilding, great coverage 👍

[@Eco-Nerd]

Thank you!! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ottergod4327]

Spotted hyena have been seen in German zoos growing longer fur.

[@arcticlion7794]

Well I think there are more cold adapted proxies for European megafauna than you might think. Asian cheetahs will develope wintercoats Lions and spotted hyenas all develope thick furs when exposed to cold conditions. Close to my hometown (German Baltic coast) lions are kept outside yearround. Southern Europe is warm enough for rhinos hippos and elephants (they re present in similar climates in South Africa)

[@Eco-Nerd]

Hey thanks for the info! Yeah, it's definitely possible that it could work. There are lions living outside all year in a Russian zoo but the cubs die unless their taken in doors during winter. Though of course temperate Europe isn't as cold as Russia. It's true that their coats get thicker in the winter but the winters don't get as cold as temperate Europe! You're definitely right that the could survive in Southern Europe but this video was just about 'temperate Europe' because it's too much to cover all of Europe in one video. I hope to do a video on Southern Europe and Arctic Europe in the future 😊

[@Pipounn-wu]

​@@Eco-NerdYes in the south of France and Spain the climate is really hot and could be perfect for some African animals. I hope there will be programms to save this biodiversity 😢

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@Pipounn-wu maybe some day 🤞

[@skurinski]

I hope to see monkeys, gazelles, cheetahs in Portugal one day.

[@BigJFindAWay]

nd ago There are only 14 Asian cheetahs still in existence in Iran and the prospects for them are not good. The only way they can survive is if they’re bred with African cheetahs selectively to increase the gene pool as was done with the Florida panther and Caucasian wisent. None of this is likely to happen for as long as these primitive medieval thugs are holding Iran back.

[@alanoriordan4088]

More Serengeti videos please 👏🏼

[@Eco-Nerd]

Glad you enjoyed it! I will be doing more in the future :)

[@lorinctoth9402]

It was a really great video, however I think it's important to mention that moose in Eurasia is called elk. When settlers went to thr Americas they named the vapiti elk, because it was so similar. (Keep in mind education and information was much different back then.) So when they encountered the real elk, the didn't have a name left for it (even if they named an animal after an other a few years back), they adapted the algonquin name, meaning bark stripper. So elk in Eurasia is elk, and elk in America is moose, and the animal in America called elk is the vapiti.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@lorinctoth9402 thanks for that! A lot of people get confused or even correct me when I say elk so it's easier just to say moose sometimes to avoid any confusion

[@deinsilverdrac8695]

Good summary of the whole deal. Shame this doesn't get more views

[@Eco-Nerd]

Hey, thanks for watching! Hopefully if a future video takes off this video might get some traction!

[@SonLucasX]

I believe that over time, animals not adapted to the cold could adapt quickly. But there would have to be many specimens of a species as many would certainly die in European winters.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@SonLucasX yeah I think if they were given time to adapt and some help from humans, it could work!

[@lorinctoth9402]

Don't forget that due to climate change winters are really really mild especially from the central line of europe and down.

[@arcticlion7794]

Yes please more videos of the European Serengeti !

[@Eco-Nerd]

Will do 😊 Thanks for watching!

[@tktyga77]

Wildlife corridors with railways & other public access ways could & would do wonders for the rewilding projects you're about while also balancing that & growing people needs in a way that helps both the people & other animals. Even the megafauna would see lots of good to come from those projects combined

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@tktyga77 Yeah I agree, Wildlife Corridors can really be huge for restoring ecosystems. Connecting ecosystems is arguably more important than just expanding them

[@joseamellugo3382]

Thats, friend, is a real interesting and well made video!💖

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@joseamellugo3382 thank you! Glad you liked it 👌

[@dynamoterror7077]

I've only recently found your channel, and I'm absolutely loving all of these videos showcasing the fauna that has so recently and tragically been lost. I truly believe that Late Pleistocene/early Holocene levels of biodiversity are both possible and necessary to restore for our own health, and it's one of my biggest passions. I did notice a handful of things in the video that were either missed or somewhat incorrect, which could be good additions to a part 2 or second edition of this video. Three species were left out: the European dhole, the European Onager, and the Barbary macaque. Additionally, the hippos of late Pleistocene europe were the same species as those in Africa today, but different hippos also lived in Europe earlier in the Pleistocene. The giant cheetah unfortunately died out during the middle Pleistocene alongside the European puma and Jaguar, so wouldn't be present in the late Pleistocene Serengeti. An interesting paper was published recently showing that two European hyenas, Pachycrocuta brevirostris and the "giant striped hyena" Hyaena prisca were in the same genus (for the former) and even species (for the latter) as the living brown hyena. So striped hyenas didn't inhabit the European Serengeti but Brown hyenas and a close relative both did. I'd absolutely love to see more videos on this incredible, mostly-lost habitat, and the possible rewinding opportunities it holds.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@dynamoterror7077 thanks for all the info! The Kulan which I mentioned is a subspecies of Onager so that's that guy covered. To the best of my knowledge the European dhole went extinct at a much earlier date than 30,000 ya but I'm open to correction? Yeah I made a mistake on the cheetah extinction date! Cool about the hyenas! I believe Crocuta crocuta spelaea was the most widespread and survived the latest in Europe

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@dynamoterror7077 As far as I can see, neither of the two hyena species referred to in that paper lived 30,000 years ago but Cave Hyenas and indeed the modern Striped Hyena would've been in Europe at that time and after 😊

[@dynamoterror7077]

@@Eco-Nerd There are dhole remains in Italy and the Iberian Peninsula that have been dated to the middle and late Paleolithic period, at least according to the latest literature. A 2021 paper I just looked over suggests that Dhole extinction might have partially resulted from the extinction of the largest cats, which otherwise kept grey wolves (dholes’ biggest threat) away or spread out or in low numbers. Dholes seem better at coexisting with large cats like tigers than Grey Wolves are.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@dynamoterror7077 Really cool. Ill be doing a Southern Europe episode at some stage and I'll be sure to mention dhole. Yeah I guess it's hard to say how wolves would do in general with big cats as we've hunted big cats to extinction in most of the areas where wolves are living ie American Lions, Cave Lions, Smildodon, Homotherium etc. It's only Asia now where they can be found coexisting with tigers and leopards in certain areas but wolves once lived alongside big cats across their range

[@johnking2702]

I love this concept so much, keep it up man

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@johnking2702 Thanks John!!

[@promaster4758]

Palaeoloxodon namadicus is from india. P. antiquus is the european species. Be careful with suggesting replacement species in rewilding. Ecosystems are very complex and species can vary a lot between genus so it is generally a bad idea. I am talking about examples like rhinos, hippos and elephants. Giant cheetah lived in the middle pleistocene, way before even neanderthals so introducing a cheetah is no sense. Leopard makes more sense since it lived in eastern europe until around 3000 years ago and lion even more recently but for the rest it is not a good idea (except maybe tigers in the caucasus and far eastern europe).

[@Baryonyxwithwifi-z2p]

I agree we shouldn’t try to restore an ecosystem too long lost before the Neanderthals as a serious rewilding project, but releasing animals and keystone species that are vital to the existence of specific biomes such as grasslands which are great carbon sinks is a good idea.

[@purplehaze2358]

You are aware that an ecosystem doesn't need to be a savannah in order to be healthy, yeah? Savannahs are breeding grounds for large megafauna, but forest ecosystems are no less important.

[@gabrielg.2401]

Spotted Hyenas would have no problem adapting to the temperatures of Europe, as would lions and leopards. Their fur would grow thicker in accordance with the seasons. Great video by the way. 👍

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@gabrielg.2401 yeah it's definitely possible, especially if they were given time to adapt! Brown hyenas actually live in the very Southern part of Africa where it's a little colder whereas Spotted Hyenas don't but it's hard to say why that is. Leopards definitely could, Amur Leopards live in freezing conditions in the winter! Thanks for watching the video, glad you liked it 👌

[@noblestor8089]

Shouldnt be spotted hyenas, Striped hyenas are more closely related to the eurasian hyena that would've lived in europe

[@gabrielg.2401]

@@noblestor8089 According to Wikipedia, both Crocuta crocuta spelaea and ultima were Subspecies of Spotted Hyena that ranged from the Iberian Peninsula to the far east of Russia, including Siberia. Therefore they are in fact a native European animal and were highly successful during their time.

[@bruno4299]

That's not how it works, they are animals adapted to the African climate. I think you have a very simplistic idea about adaptation

[@Никита-в5ъ9х]

Lions also will easily adapt to European climate. They already lived in Europe less than 3 thousand years ago not only in southern Europe but also in steppes near Black Sea

[@carturbi4431]

Thank you for giving me this information in my left ear

[@alexanderdragonheart2036]

Yes, I’m a writer and among many forms of fanfiction I’ve also been doing spec evo series that would these videos your planing to do very helpful.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@alexanderdragonheart2036 cool! What are you writing about?

[@alexanderdragonheart2036]

It’s a world where for whatever humans disappeared during the Pleistocene which means they couldn’t contribute to the extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna. I’m basically writing to see what that would look like, I call it “Humanless Earth”.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@alexanderdragonheart2036 sounds really cool! Best of luck with it!

[@dawidm08277]

I think about reintroducing leopards to chernobyl, france, portugal etc

[@dawidm08277]

For start

[@Eco-Nerd]

Me too! That'd be really cool. It would be interesting to see how it affected the wildlife

[@deinsilverdrac8695]

Bad idea France is a bitch to nature, as Bad as Uk. Very anti-wolves and Bear, Heck even lynx and most herbivore too. Spain, Turkey, Caucasus, Levant, Balkans (dinaric Alps), Cantabrian, are amonst the best place i think, maybe even Alps

[@dawidm08277]

@@Eco-Nerd Yes make a primal paradise

[@Eco-Nerd]

Yes 🙏 🙏

[@donderstorm1845]

love to see this positive shift taking place around the world. from hunting animals, unfortunately many to extinction, to more and more countries taking steps to protect wildlife.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@donderstorm1845It's an amazing change 🙌

[@alanbstard4]

your European Serengeti would require a huge fenced aread

[@jozebutinar44]

Elephants can adapt to european climate

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@jozebutinar44 Southern Europe definitely! Hard to say about how they'd do in Central Europe in the winter. They've evolved to live in very warm climates

[@HerrAndreasSkog]

Have you guys made any predictions on how this will affect trafic safety in Europe?

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@HerrAndreasSkog Not sure how it would affect road users 🤣 Yeah I know it's a pipe dream in these times, it's just a vision of the amazing wilderness Europe could have if we were able to restore large areas to nature

[@HerrAndreasSkog]

@@Eco-NerdIf you can not imagine the issues this could create in traffic then I'll have it you don't live in a country with a lot of moose or wild hogs in it. I happen to dwell in such a place and it is our well founded conclusion that megafauna and cars don't go well together without significant structurl adjustment... From the human side. The magafauna doesn't adjust to the cars. That is sort of the problem. I am all for them trying though, it is not like we are using this space for anything meaningful anyway. Yolo.

[@joarvat]

Large tracts of land given to animals is exactly what we need. The best chance of doing this would be in the region where Belarus, Poland and Ukrain meet.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@joarvat yep! I think anywhere that people are leaving the land is the best, especially land that is already close to wild spaces!

[@tadblackington1676]

Elephants and rhinos might succeed in temperate zones better than might be believed. Their size give them a low surface area to volume ratio and makes them inherently well adapted to deal with the cold. If some of these sorts of animals were introduced into one of Europe's Mediterranean peninsulas with a path to spread north they might return to all of Europe in not too many generations. Now its just a matter of coming up with the space and social acceptance.

[@Eco-Nerd]

Yeah, you're right! I often think this too. If they could be gradually introduced and have a chance to adapt it would probably work but unfortunately the space isn't there for them right now

[@jonathanroberts-bj7yl]

More like Mammoths, Woolly Rhinoceroses, and Cave Lions.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@jonathanroberts-bj7yl hopefully 🤞 🤞

[@feldspar393]

Was it deliberate to show a muskrat while talking about beavers? A similar thing happened in the American video, with a nutria shown during a beaver segment.

[@bask8953]

Oostvaardersplassen in the Netherlands are not a succesful recreated ecosystem by any means. It is a failed project that sees mass starvation of grazers every winter. The founder of the project claims it to be an island system, but it is not an island but rather a fenced off plot. The animals can see food, they just can't get to it and are doomed to starve. I wouldn't showcase it as a succes story at all.

[@Eco-Nerd]

​@@bask8953 thanks for watching the video! That's not the case any more. The project has changed its stance and now controls the herbivores populations in the area. It's also an important rewilding project as they were the first to intentionally introduce cattle and horses as proxies for their ancestors and paved the way for a now booming rewilding conservation in Europe where others have learned from their mistakes

[@FromTheGong]

Not sure if this could be indicative of big cat survival in European climates. There are predominantly two species of exotic big cats that have survived and bred from release and escaped big cats in the 18 and early to mid 1900's in Australia. Mountain lions, black leopards and jaguars, various subspecies of tiger and African lions were popular exotic pets brought over by European and American early settlers with only mountain lions and black leopards surviving long enough to establish small isolated populations. Also during the 1850's gold rush big cats were used to guard miners digs. Quite often these were released for various reasons or escaped as well as big cat mascots used by US servicemen stationed in Australia during WW2. On returning home all big cat mascots were ordered to be destroyed but of course these big cats were like to ets to them and killing their pet just wasn't going to happen. So the majority just 'vanished' (sort of somehow escaped, most definitely not released. That would be worthy of disciplinary action) often the day before returning or the surrender order date. Others, interestingly including a few Australian dingo pups and breeding pairs were smuggled back on board returning ships. The Australian government has a 'yeh we know they're in the bush but it's easier and more convenient to just say yehnah they're just probably here, so don't panic or form hunting possies. Trust us, we're the government." As a side note it was these smuggled Aussie Dingoes that almost all privately owned Australian Dingoes and pets in the states originated from.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@FromTheGong that's interesting! Do you think there are some big cats still out there then??

[@seumasmacdhomhnaill4395]

Yeah but a lot died out in the pleistocene probably for a reason. After all the mammoth steppe is gone and europe became a forest and the animals that could cope, stayed or moved in. Im all for rewilding holocene europe but europe is very populated and most of the natural areas have been cleared for agriculture and urban expansion. During the period prior to/and after the neolithic revolution there were still vast tracts of wilderness and many were still hunter gatherers well into the bronze age. Hopefully though we can recreate pockets of wilderness in Europe but some of these animals need vast tracts of land, like wild horses and cattle or vast tracts of forest for bison to be able to support viable populations

[@jthomas8263]

I'm sorry, Scientists cannot bring back the Forest Tarpan and the Steppe Tarpan based on Cave Painting that resembled the Przewalski's Horse.

[@peasinourthyme5722]

Yes, I can imagine that :)

[@Eco-Nerd]

🙌🙌 me too!

[@Sprigatito687]

Leopards in Europe ever heard of the beast of bodmoor my exmoor or eesex lion

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@Sprigatito687 I have indeed

[@GeffreyKane]

Learned lots. Great narration. Love the passion.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@GeffreyKane thanks very much! Glad you enjoyed it 😊

[@PredaKing559]

lions cope well with cold climates if they live outdoors since childhood

[@olafguzdiol8606]

In der steinzeit were eine Safari wohl eine Mischung aus Tieren von Afrika aber auch nordischen Tieren die man in Kanada und Alaska heute noch sieht man sähe Löwen Hüyänen Elefanten Nashörner flusspferde aber auch Bären Bisons Riesenhirsche Elche und viele andere Tiere zu sehen were spannend 😊😊😊

[@roryoneill9444]

Both the Aurochs and Tarpan should be cloned to gamete level to add to as back-breeding programs as well as gamete cloning for European Bison and Iberian Ibex..

[@BigJFindAWay]

Cloning is far has been a spectacular failure and they’ve been at it for over twenty years.

[@roryoneill9444]

@@BigJFindAWay That is due to creating a full animal, all is needed is clone to sperm level and add to the breeding stock.

[@wildguy4773]

Asian lions inhabited southern europe, in the balkans many legends were told about them, but roman empire expanded and hunted or kept them as pets, asian lions still exist but in remonte area of gir forest in gujarat India. We have high chances of reintroducing species in countries they historically lived but problem is the europe is now really populated and habitats are shrinking, so will we able to make europe suitable for all animals that historically lived in europe? Only time will tell

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@wildguy4773 yeah it certainly seems like we're a long way off any introduction like that in Europe but who knows, as we learn about the benefits of larger, wilder ecosystems, we could see it some day 🤞

[@justicar347]

While I am all for rewilding, some of this is very unlikely. It is hard to get the public on board with introducing predators, especially ones that would be exotic. Tigers are already endangered in their natural habitat so breaking off enough to form a European population would exacerbate that. Not to mention the amount of territory they demand. Also, they are more than willing to prey on humans and livestock. It is better to focus on strengthening native wolf populations. They are a native and fully adapted keystone species.

[@jthomas8263]

An Amur Tiger that which as the proxy of the Turanian or Caspian Tigers that which found in Ukraine too.

[@omarsali2990]

Amur is Siberian

[@BigJFindAWay]

I think that certain smaller Amur tigers need to be selectively bred with thinner stripes thus recreating the Caspian tiger.

[@omarsali2990]

@@BigJFindAWay they are the same species anyways But I don't think they need replacement as they are probably still alive

[@jthomas8263]

@@BigJFindAWay Yes, They're both Continental Tigers.

[@BigJFindAWay]

@@jthomas8263 The Siberian and Caspian tigers are so close together that its thought that the Caspian tiger is descended from Amur tigers. What I think should be done is for smaller Siberian tigers to be bred for thinner stripes and smaller size thus recreating a new Caspian tiger to reintroduce to reserves in Kazakhstan.

[@marijnkriegsman]

weren't there also lions (Panthera Leo) in Europe until roman times? Which would suggest they can survive in temperate climates too

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@marijnkriegsman There were lions in the sub-tropical parts of Europe at that time ie. Greece and potentially Italy and the Balkans but lions (panthera leo) were never in temperate Europe. And the lions that lived in Europe would have taken generations to colonise and adapt to the European climate so.it wouldn't be the same as plucking the Asiatic Lions (which are only found in a tropical climate) and putting them in Europe if you understand me? It's not impossible though and if given time and aid they could well adapt

[@dawidm08277]

I allso want to reintroduce a snow leopards in ,,Tatry" and Alps mountains or more places And in future a pack of lions in chernobyl and portugal and other places etc (Legally or not)

[@Eco-Nerd]

That would be cool!! Legally or not 🤣

[@dawidm08277]

@@Eco-Nerd hehe (But i don't ewen have enough money for ewen one lion)

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@dawidm08277 I don't either Dawid 🤣 maybe together we could afford to pay for a large house cat instead!! Good to hear from you again 👍

[@dawidm08277]

@@Eco-Nerd thanks i really like your yt wideos Maby modern aurochs and wild horses first

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@dawidm08277 yeah they're definitely a bit easier!

[@Kevinmc-j7l]

I would not be happy with tigers and leopards being reintroduced to Great Britain if they want them on the continent that's up to them

[@guerreiro943]

Awesome video. Although I do have to say that I think that 'climate change' as a cause for the extinction of the megafauna was not as big of a factor as people say. Those animals had survived countless glacial and interglacial periods, some of them with more drastic variation than the last one, only to went extinct after humans arrived in the mainland.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@guerreiro943 thank you! I totally agree, climate change was likely a factor but the vast majority of the animals would have adapted as they had done through the previous changes. In previous changes they could migrate to warmer areas and evolve adaptations to the changing climate but humans it would've been very difficult to do that with humans putting so much pressure on the megafauna

[@Thorns31122]

There is actually a subspecies of leopard that isn’t that far from Europe and is probably better suited. It’s the Persian leopard and there’s even a small population in Georgia.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@Thorns31122 Yeah someone else pointed that out a while back! Pretty cool. I really think if humans somehow weren't a factor, leopards would've recolonized Europe a long long time ago

[@rat_thrower5604]

Is the sound a bit off?

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@rat_thrower5604 yep! It was my second ever video and I'm still learning how to improve it! Hope it's not too bad for you. I think with this video if you turn the volume up it helps 🙏

[@rat_thrower5604]

@@Eco-Nerd I wasn't sure because my headphones are also broken lol. Keep at it 👍

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@rat_thrower5604 ah no worries! Cheers 😎

[@royhay5741]

Tigers, lions, and leopards are native to parts of Europe.

[@TheMegAxolatl4836]

Hyena are able to adapt to could environments by growing extra fur every winter

[@jgr7487]

So many former rural villages have no citizens. These areas should become natural wildlife refuges. Let's not forget that wild animals are *not* made of fairy dust. If an active rural area is transformed into a reservation, the new denizens will continue burping and farting, so there'll be no carbon capture gains. Let actuve rural areas produce food and uninhabited areas be given back to their original wild denizens.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@jgr7487yep there is lots of land abandonment in Europe, land that is increasingly being used for and by wildlife! The densities that wild ruminants live in are no where near the densities livestock are kept at. The evidence shows that wild ruminants help the land sequester far more greenhouse gases than the animals produce themselves. I don't by any means suggest moving people off of land or taking productive lands off of owners though. That's their property and they have a right to keep it. When unproductive, affordable land is available though, governments and environmental NGOs should continue to by the land and rewild it

[@skurinski]

Europe also had pumas once

[@vortixq3043]

I mean, big cats would do well in the southern Europe. Elephants and rhinos would have to take time in warmer but a little bit more dryer climates I think. Idk, I'm not an expert

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@vortixq3043 yep I think they'd do well in the climate of Southern Europe, it's sub-tropical, the same as many of the areas they're already found it! There are plenty of other issues though but we can only hope 🤣

[@saroruhagoswami9202]

Is European countries allowed to Re-wildering projects?!!

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@saroruhagoswami9202 yeah, there are lots of European Rewilding Projects! Here are 4 kzbin.info/www/bejne/mH_VlZygdptofKMsi=hd49sdi4YfWiIV13

[@Rodrigo_Vega]

I had similar thoughts for South America, sadly the proxies we would have to take are even more remote than in Europe 😅

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@Rodrigo_Vega 🤣 that's true! The advantage you do have in South America is that you do have huge wild areas that are ready for introductions unlike Europe which is so densely populated and the habitats are so fragmented. Maybe some elephants in the Amazon??

[@Rodrigo_Vega]

@@Eco-Nerd I think there are actually a couple elephant sanctuaries in Brazil, mostly rescued from old zoos, circuses and the like. They seem to be doing pretty well. There's also the famous "Colombian Hippos" that were doing _too_ well. I'm from Argentina, so my concern is the Southern cone, which is a completely distinct eco-region, and currently quite vacant really. One of the issues is the cold-dryness of Patagonia. My demented suggestion would be to change the course of most large Patagonian rivers that currently flow West-East directly into the Atlantic ocean so that they merge together towards the North. Creating something like a Mississippi river-system, with forest and swamplands that could be filled with elephants, hippos, jaguars and marsh deer. This would benefit no one cause untold damage. i will take no questions.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@Rodrigo_Vega Yeah I've heard about the elephant sanctuaries and of course I've heard about Pablo's hippos I wonder how wild the elephants live and if their impact is being studied? 😂😂 some times it'd be great to do things just because they're cool 😎

[@manuellaruelocuesta8187]

​@@Rodrigo_Vegaalso in Argentina there are already some megafauna, some native like the jaguar, cougar or guanaco and some introduced like red deer, wild pig, water buffalo, chital deer and black antilope

[@jonathanroberts-bj7yl]

We can clone some of the extinct species.

[@Eco-Nerd]

Yes, some day 🙏 looks like it'll be mammoths first!

[@jonathanroberts-bj7yl]

@@Eco-Nerd Mammoths were very unusual Elephants.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@jonathanroberts-bj7yl yep but very closely related to modern elephants all the same! Asian Elephants are more closely related to woolly mammoths than they are to African Elephants!

[@jonathanroberts-bj7yl]

@@Eco-Nerd yes.

[@BigJFindAWay]

No you can’t. It’s never succeeded.

[@royhay5741]

The British Isles should reintroduce white park oxen instead of introduce Tauros, Taurus, or Heck oxen.

[@Youcanatme]

Small problem the land is almost completely used by humans. Western Europe is the worst place for such projects rivaled by Japan especially Tokyo and costal china

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@Youcanatme yep, we definitely have a lack of wildnersness space! More land is being rewilded every year though so we can hope 🙏

[@Youcanatme]

@@Eco-Nerd that the population drops?

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@Youcanatme Hope that humans use land more wisely and connect and grow wild spaces as has been happening in recent years despite human population growth

[@greenphantom1955]

I think rhino's might be able to survive in some of Europe. South Africa the karoo goes into the negatives and rhino and elephants can be found there

[@J-zc5jh]

There's big cats in the British isles and what about the rest of Europe

[@BigJFindAWay]

6:29. You mention bison. Why did you show an American bison?????

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@BigJFindAWay Because I wanted to show a video of a bison wallowing and there were no videos on stock websites of European Bison wallowing

[@omarsali2990]

Correction at some point in the video you said that siberian tiger was the largest modern cat but its just aa claim lots of people like to throw aroumd but both the african lion and bengal tiger surpass it on average and wild records

[@Aethuviel]

Really live this type of content. 👍🏻 If you would just allow me one nitpick, please don't call them "moose". They're slk here. It's like calling Eurasian reindeer "caribou". They're the same species, but the names in America are native american and specific to them. They're elk, elg, älg, Alces alces, and it's a shame the wapiti should steal that name.

[@maniacram]

Why do you want serengeti in Europe? Get your own geti.

[@FeralCheryl91]

Iranian cheetahs live up in the mountain plains and have very fluffy coats, but there's only about 40 of them. If you could somehow take semen from a few wild Iranian cheetahs, mix it with several captive bred African cheetahs, you could potentially breed a longer coat and do staged rewinding like they do in South Africa? I think they're also trying to breed the King Cheetah in captivity, they've got amazing striped coats, definitely look them up. 💚 Just a few thoughts from a diehard spotty cat lady 😆

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@FeralCheryl91 hey Cheryl, I had never heard about King Cheetahs! They look really cool!! Asiatic Cheetahs actually have a shorter coat and main than African Cheetahs so I'm not so sure they're better adapted to the cold but all cheetahs can grow out a winter coat so maybe if cheetahs that had a longer coat were bred together and put into a staged rewilding project like you suggested, we could have them in Europe once again 🙏

[@BigJFindAWay]

Not 40. 14. The only way that race of cheetah will survive is if they’re bred with African cheetahs and those cubs with Asian characteristics set aside for their own program. But even this us not likely to happen for as long as Iran is run by these religious fanatic thugs who hate everyone and the outside world.

[@manuelkanakaris64]

I would love this, we should live in some sort of harmony with nature not dominate it

[@immortalandeternalgod-empe4681]

yes leopards in europe and lions in the balkans

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@immortalandeternalgod-empe4681 Yes please!

[@immortalandeternalgod-empe4681]

@@Eco-Nerd Well tbh it is kinda hard to realize it in overpopulated europe du to the big need of large territories these animals have, there might be some places suitable, but im not sure if they are interconected enough to create a stable population

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@immortalandeternalgod-empe4681 yeah we're not anywhere near that yet but Rewilding is growing quickly in Europe!

[@fabiansaerve]

I mean it sounds great. But very unrealistic. Especially for the more dangerous animals. People would never support this. They are already afraid of harmless wolfs.

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@fabiansaerve yeah the majority of people would definitely be against it still but attitudes towards predators are quickly changing

[@Dr-Victor-rk4osl]

Persian leopard

[@abduking.]

i dont thing introducing tigers into europe would be a good idea. Firstly they were never native to europe in the first place introducing an african lion would be more native to Europe than tigers. Secondly they would probably do well in the forest of europe but the point is to restore the ancient grasslands if they were restored then tigers wouldnt do so well anyways as tigers are not grassland hunters there forest creatures thats probably why lions out competed then in the first place even tho the lions had to adapt to the climate more due to there familiarity with the grasslands. Thirdly lions are pack hunters tigers are not this is also probably why they outcompeted lions in that environment cause there hunting method is more efficient.

[@manuellaruelocuesta8187]

Also i think tigers are more agressive towards people than lions or leopards

[@Harisankar.P]

Reintroducing tigers is not reintroduction.They are not native to europe where as lions were

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@Harisankar.P that's correct! I said to introduce tigers, not reintroduce 😎

[@rubric-eo5yj]

@@Eco-Nerd but i don't think tigers need to be introduced tho ,when lions were already native to the area and role of tiger can be played by leopards and jaguars(SORRY FOR THE SUPER LATE REPLAY),on top of that tigers tend to be far more aggressive towards people than lions and considering the competition in this hypothetical environment many might turn into man eaters

[@rodox2832]

No space in Europe

[@Baryonyxwithwifi-z2p]

There is. Just not in areas that people often see because. Well. They don’t live there

[@marcfrankoro]

Hello, in the South Caucasus (Azerbaijan Armenia Georgia) we have leopards :) although I don’t know if we count as European

[@Eco-Nerd]

@@marcfrankoro The Caucasus are pretty much considered the border of Asia and Europe so I guess it depends on which side they're on 🤔