A new study found that the population of the big carnivores -- wolves, brown bears, the Eurasian lynx and the wolverine -- across Europe has now doubled due to coexistence efforts.
Guillaume Chapron, a professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences' Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, and his colleagues examined the population data of the animals across Europe.
Current data showed that Europe is home to 17,000 brown bears, 9,000 Eurasian lynx and more than 12,000 wolves. According to the National Geographic, there are more bears in Europe now compared to the United States grizzly bear population that is only 1,800.
The researchers linked the success story to cross-border cooperation, strong regulations and public mindset that made coexistence between humans and these big carnivores possible. The continent strengthened its legal protections for its animals to mirror the Endangered Species Act of the United States.
In Europe, "we don't have unspoiled, untouched areas," Chapron told Live Science. "But what is interesting is, that does not mean we do not have carnivores. Au contraire; we have many carnivores.
Europe pushed to make human-animal coexistence possible due to the limited space it has for national parks and wilderness. If it did not develop the "coexistence model," it won't be long before it loses its big carnivores. The researchers believe that the same model could be applied in the United States.
"Well, look at the European example," Chapron told National Geographic. "You can have a lot of wolves and bears in California; you just have to move to a coexistence mindset."
Chapron is aware that implementing the coexistence model is not easy work as humans have an innate fear of having these big carnivores nearby especially for the farmers. He suggested that the campaign should be introduced to the farmers and landowners, along with the action plans to address their reservations.
This study was published in the Dec. 18 issue of the journal Science.
