The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
CHRIS PACKHAM CLOSE TO HOME
There’s a world of exotic travel out there – but don’t overlook Britain and Europe with their wildlife riches and inspirational stories
Want to see colonies of flamingos? Head not to Lake Natron in Tanzania, but to Tarn in south-west France. Ibex and chamois? Consider Vanoise National Park, in the French Alps. Wolves and bears? Look to the Carpathian Mountains of eastern Europe, a far cheaper option than the US Rockies.
For wildlife holidays close to home, the sky really is the limit.
In terms of conservation, Europe is many grades ahead of Britain. It has much more space and fewer people, creating the right kinds of habitat for animals and minimising conflict with humans. We’re a very overcrowded island by comparison. There’s a fantastic project called Rewilding Europe. In eight key areas they are reintroducing species such as bison sustainably, alongside human communities. These projects are inspiring – and their creators have thought of everything. There’s even a bank offering low-interest loans for people who want to set up sustainable businesses there.
If only we were that farsighted in Britain. The problem here is that so many people are opposed to rewilding. They need to realise that these projects are of enormous benefit to humans as well as to wildlife and the environment. Look what happened with the sea eagles in Scotland, reintroduced on Mull and Skye. Of 30 breeding pairs in Britain, two thirds are on those two islands – adding millions of pounds a year to the economy.
Mull is now an ecotourism hotspot. People go there all the time to see not just the eagles but the otters, the cetaceans and the birds. Bearing in mind the high unemployment rate and low population density of western Scotland, these reintroductions have been of enormous social benefit.
People think rewilding is all about wolves and other large mammals – but you can’t put wolves back into a place until the whole environment is fixed. Rewilding has to start from the ground up, beginning with plant colonies, then herbivores, which in turn become food for carnivores. You can’t have top-of-the-food-chain predators if there is no prey.
It’s also important to think about infrastructure. Wolves roam over large areas, which brings them into contact with humans – leading to road casualties or conflicts with livestock. That’s why rewilding is unpopular with farmers.
But there are plenty of places in Britain where you can see wildlife in reassuringly large numbers. Bass Rock, off North Berwick in Scotland, is a great place for a holiday – in June and July especially. In Dunbar, you can take a boat trip around the island – which is smothered by a thriving population of gannets. There’s an amazing cacophony as the birds spiral above you and the boatmen throw fish into the water. You’ll see the gannets plunge-diving a few feet away.
We should put more money into conserving wildlife populations like that. One important step is committing to take some of your holidays in Britain. Putting money into the home kitty is really important.
But it’s hard to resist the lure of continental Europe, too. In spring, Extremadura in Spain is my favourite place for wildlife. It hasn’t been ravaged by industrial agriculture, so there are huge quantities of wild flowers, butterflies and a healthy population of birds.
Another favourite is Coto Doñana, the wetlands west of Seville in Andalucia. Access isn’t easy, but there are Iberian lynx, wild boar and an abundance of bird life, just a few hours’ drive from the Costas. There’s a house for sale there which I’ve been looking at for 18 months – right in the middle of those rich habitats.
It’s beyond my budget, but if I had the money I would definitely move there – and I’d probably never come back.
Rewilding is of enormous benefit to humans as well as the environment