We are looking at the subject of rewilding on Ecolution again, but this time we are talking about bringing back some big animals!
In an earlier episode the crew looked at rewilding in terms of native trees and forestry, and how this natural environment can support pollinators and allow other creatures to thrive.
Now it's time to look at the idea of going big to help combat the biodiversity crisis!
Did you know that Ireland is a country that was once home to far bigger animals than those we see now? They all lived in an ecosystem, which is made up of many layers and you can see the elements explained below.
- The Litosphere is the ground; earth, rocks, dust and gravel.
- The Hydrosphere: the rivers and the sea (any body of water).
- The Atmosphere is the air.
- And the Biosphere consists of the vegetation and animals, big and small.
The biosphere, on land and in water, contains all living organisms. Our trees and plants, our fish, our pollinators, our insects but also animals large and small.
Over the past centuries much of this has been damaged. We have lost a huge amount of fauna.
Just to look at one example, BirdWatch Ireland has been studying declines in the bird population of Ireland.
Their most recent report says that the rate of loss of bird habitats is happening "so fast" that birds cannot cope with the change and their populations have been "decimated".
The organisation states that these significant drops are a result of climate change, agriculture, hedge cutting, pollution and burning of scrub.
It’s clear that we need to change how we treat our wild spaces - and create a lot more of them. One way to do this is to introduce an apex predator, one that can return balance to an ecosystem in crisis.
And, controversial as it may be, that’s the focus of today’s episode, the last of this season.
We visit Wild Ireland to meet The Bearman of Buncrana, Killian McLaughlin.
Wild Ireland offers sanctuary to many animals which have been exploited and abused in circuses, roadside zoos, the illegal pet trade and laboratories.
It offers sanctuary to many animals which have been persecuted and hunted into extinction on this Island such as brown bears, wolves, lynx and wild boar.
We also speak to David Smyth of Rewilding Ireland on Twitter to ask why he sees wolves in our future.
We talk about Ireland’s long history of wolves in history and myth with Tomm Moore of Cartoon Saloon, co-director of the Oscar nominated film WolfWalkers.
Plus, Dr Shane puts things in perspective and the Brain Trust imagine what it would be like to meet a wolf in the woods.
Although we’re finishing up for a few months to plan and record for the next series, we’d love you to get involved.
If you’d like to be a part of Ecolution, either as part of the Brain Trust or by reporting on environmental issues in your area, we’d love to hear from you.
Email junior@rte.ie.
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