Wolverines are making a comeback in southern Finland, where they were wiped out in the 19th century. Bird Guides explains:
Once hunted to local extinction in southern Finland, the wolverine has been observed returning to its historical range.
The exciting news was revealed by a study published in Ecology and Evolution in which scientists from Aalto University used satellite imagery and field data to document the elusive mammal’s gradual reappearance.
Classified as Endangered in Finland since the 1980s, wolverines were last seen in the south of the country in the 19th century. Overhunting during the 20th century pushed the species to near extinction in the region, confining remaining populations to Finland’s north and east.
Globally, wolverines’ range spans boreal and Arctic regions across northern Europe, Russia and North America.
In Europe as a whole, wolverines, bears, jackals, wolves, and lynx have multiplied in recent years. There are now 150,000 golden jackals, mostly in southern Europe, an increase of 46% since 2016. “There are now about 20,500 brown bears in Europe, a rise of 17% since 2016, while there are 9,400 Eurasian lynx, a 12% increase.” Wolverines have increased by 16% to 1,300, while wolves have increased by 35% to 23,000. There are now about 2,000 Iberian lynxes in Spain and Portugal, a comeback for a species that once verged on extinction.
In 2023, a baby beaver was born in London, the first beaver birth there in 400 years. And carnivorous plants were reintroduced to English wetlands.
Forests are expanding in much of the world. China’s forests have grown by about 234,000 square miles over the last 30 years, an area the size of Ukraine. The European Union has added an area the size of Cambodia to its woodlands. Costa Rica has 150% more forest than it did in 1987.
The replacement of horses with automobiles restored New England’s forests, which had mostly disappeared by 1910, but now cover much of the region. Today, Vermont is 78% forested, but in 1910, it was mostly un-forested.
