We are turning the tide by
partnering with nature –
Rewilding is a holistic and inclusive approach that considers the needs of both nature and people. Rewilders work hand-in-hand with local communities and indigenous people, assuring success into the future.
Get inspired by all these amazing stories happening all around the world!
The Community that Coexists with Elephants
Location: Kenya, Africa
Surrounding the freshwater Lake Jipe in Kenya, that teems with wildlife of all kinds, the local elephants graze the reeds alongside the local village fishermen, having made their daily walk directly through the village to get there. Elephants and humans coexist peacefully here.
As our Alliance Partner, Save the Elephants, was conducting their insightful research on elephant behaviour, they uncovered this unique coexistence between humans and elephants. Their work is essential to understanding the core of rewilding: the involvement of local communities.
As socioeconomic pressures rise, the importance of nurturing this positive mutual coexistence is key to effective conservation and rewilding efforts. The story holds insights for projects that are restoring wildlife around the world.
Photo credit: Anthony Ochieng
Location: Kenya, Africa
On the edge of Kenya’s vast Tsavo West National Park lies Lake Jipe – one of the country’s most important wetlands and home to fish, hippos, crocodiles and unique birdlife. Migratory and water birds frequent its reedy shores; these include storks, egrets, pelicans, spur-winged plovers and many more. Jipe forms a biodiversity rich ecosystem.
Photo credit: Anthony Ochieng
Ecosystem services: ancient cattle help to prevent wildfire and increase local biodiversity
Partner Organisation: Rewilding Spain – Europe
This herd of wild Tauros cattle catch lightning!
Rewilding Spain’s herd of ancient Taurus cattle is already preventing wildfire and bringing back the local area’s biodiversity and healthy soils.
This magnificent species is part of the wider Europe-based Tauros Programme that is working to bring back this keystone species, in the hope of replicating the central role of the extinct Auroch. These wild cattle share 94% of their genetics with the Auroch, so are large, powerful and very resilient. They trample and graze the landscape, and as ecosystem engineers, are already having a visible, positive impact.
Remarkably, a local farmer reported a large lightning strike that would usually have started a devastating wildfire but instead, as the ground had been trampled and grazed by the herd, no fire was started and the landscape remained resilient. This is just one example of the central role that these ecosystem engineers play in the wider landscape.
Full story coming soon.
Photo credit: Lidia Valverde / Rewilding Spain
Critical wildlife corridors
Partner Organisation: – Wildlife Conservation Trust, India – Asia
Critical wildlife corridors for the ‘Big 4’: tigers, sloth bears, leopard and asiatic wild dogs
As human disturbance and pressure on landscapes increases, wildlife corridors are more crucial than ever before, and the Wildlife Conservation Trust is working on a ‘blueprint’ for effective conservation in this field while directly expanding protected areas in India.
Their study underlines the crucial importance of corridors of habitat that connect different protected areas. This research led to further protection of the Sahyadri-Konkan corridor in India. This stretch of forest connects multiple protected areas and is vital for four large carnivores – tiger, leopard, dhole (Asiatic wild dog), and sloth bear – all of which are keystone species in the local ecosystem.
This research has led to landmark decisions by local government to create further Conservation Reserves, protecting an additional 874 ㎢ of vital tiger habitat in the Sahyadri corridor. WCT in collaboration with local NGOs, have the aim to improve management practices in the corridor to protect, restore and rewild the area, ensuring its functionality over the long-term.
This is vital in the case of the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve as there is only a single linear corridor connecting this reserve to Kali Tiger Reserve in Karnataka. Any further break in connectivity will severely affect its populations, with cascading effects on the local ecosystem.
Full story coming soon.
Photographs of tigers captured on camera traps in the Sahyadri-Konkan Corridor. Credit: WCT/Maharashtra Forest Department
Jaguar Reintroduction Project in Iberá
Partner Organisation: Rewilding Argentina – South America
The jaguar, South America’s top predator, once roamed the Iberá Wetlands in northeastern Argentina. Nevertheless, human activities, such as cattle ranching and hunting, drove it to extinction more than seventy years ago.
With Tompkins Conservation’s support, Rewilding Argentina launched a project in 2012 to reintroduce this large feline in Iberá Park. As a result of the collaborative work with the provincial government and Argentina’s National Parks Administration, as of 2023, at least twenty jaguars live freely in the Iberá Wetlands, where they coexist with other iconic reintroduced species, like giant anteaters, pampas deer, and collared peccaries.
Full story coming soon.
Photo credit: Rewilding Argentina
Save the Smile of the Yangtze River
Partner Organisation: SEE, China – Asia
The rare finless river porpoise that lives in the Yangtze river in China is known for its friendly smile. But this endearing species is on the brink, with only 1,000 individuals left, but hope is found in SEE’s ‘Save the Smile of the Yangtze River’ project.
The project catalyses positive and collaborative action of social organisations, governments and research institutions to effectively protect this dwindling population. Their vision is to restore the populations of finless porpoises in their freshwater habitat, and crucially, restore a healthy, balanced river ecosystem.
The project already has wonderful synergy: the Ministry of Agriculture has supported 106 former fishermen to become rangers that guard various vital sites along the river. At the start of 2023, training of over 20,000 people has resulted in 522 active patrol teams that are involved in water inspections, public education, and the protection of aquatic species, making them an important supplement to the ten-year ban on fishing in the Yangtze River.
Full story coming soon.