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  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-365.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-347.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.<br />
<br />
Osprey at work (Pandion haliaetus), FINLAND/KANGASALA, PIRKANMAA. The osprey is a true global traveller and is found in every continent except Antarctica. Most of Europe’s ospreys breed in the north – Finland, Norway, Sweden and Russia - travelling south for the winter. This fishing-specialist has made a comeback in recent years due to a reduction of poisonous man-made toxins in their food, less persecution and better protection.  Stopping the illegal shooting of migrating raptors in Malta, is of an enormous importance for this and several other species.
    PCA-20092808-308.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-190.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-188.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-186.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-160.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-134.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-083.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-308-Outdoor.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) perched on dead pine snag, Scotland.
    PCA-20092808-449.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) perched on dead pine snag, Scotland.
    PCA-20092808-448.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) perched on dead pine snag, Scotland.
    PCA-20092808-447.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) perched on dead pine snag, Scotland.
    PCA-20092808-444.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) perched on dead pine snag, Scotland.
    PCA-20092808-442.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-432.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-418.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-410.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) weather vane silhouetted at dusk, Finland
    PCA-20092808-395.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-383.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-355.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-348.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-342.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-344.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-330.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-317.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-315.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-311.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-300.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-298.jpg
  • Grey heron (Ardea cinerea) reflection, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-289.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-280.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-270.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-272.jpg
  • High-key Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-269.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-243.jpg
  • High-key Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-267.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-242.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-240.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-235.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-233.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-200.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-199.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-197.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-195.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-194.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-189.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-184.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-179.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-173.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-170.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-164.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-155.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-119.jpg
  • Abstract of Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-121.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-115.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-113.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-109.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-087.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-079.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-076.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-075.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-074.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-069.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-066.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-053.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-047.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-040.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-037.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-010.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-035.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-436.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) weather vane silhouetted at dusk, Finland
    PCA-20092808-394.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) silhouetted at dusk, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-393.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-333.jpg
  • Grey heron (Ardea cinerea), Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-288.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-177.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-172.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-070.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-060.jpg
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) fishing, Kangasala, Finland.
    PCA-20092808-031.jpg
  • Griffon vulture, Gyps fulvus, and Black vulture, Aegypius monachus,  SPAIN/CAMPANARIOS DE AZÁBA RESERVE, SALAMANCA PROVINCE, CASTILLA Y LEÓN Vulture watching has become increasingly popular and can now be done at several sites in Spain and Portugal, where you can see these amazing birds up close from purpose-built hides. This photo is from a hide in the Campanarios de Azába reserve, run by Fundación Naturaleza y Hombre and a part of the Rewilding Europe initiative. For the first time in European history, live, wild vultures can be worth serious money for the land owners.The comeback of the griffon vulture in Spain is a great conservation success story – from 7,000 pairs in 1980 to approx. 18,000 in 2009. Griffons now breed in 16 European countries and have recently been seen in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.  But it’s not all good news. Each year, around 1,000 vultures are killed in Spain as a result of collisions with poorly placed wind turbines. EU veterinary regulations also mean that fewer dead domestic animals are left out in the open, and this has spelled disaster for all four European vulture species. Particularly in Greece and the Balkans, vultures still also fall victim to some shepherds bad old habit of poisoning carcasses to kill wolves – inevitably, all other scavengers then die off too. Photo: Staffan Widstrand/Wild Wonders of Europe
    SWD-2012-06-30-112944.jpg
  • Griffon vulture, Gyps fulvus, SPAIN/CAMPANARIOS DE AZÁBA RESERVE, SALAMANCA PROVINCE, CASTILLA Y LEÓN Vulture watching has become increasingly popular and can now be done at several sites in Spain and Portugal, where you can see these amazing birds up close from purpose-built hides. This photo is from a hide in the Campanarios de Azába reserve, run by Fundación Naturaleza y Hombre and a part of the Rewilding Europe initiative. For the first time in European history, live, wild vultures can be worth serious money for the land owners.The comeback of the griffon vulture in Spain is a great conservation success story – from 7,000 pairs in 1980 to approx. 18,000 in 2009. Griffons now breed in 16 European countries and have recently been seen in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.  But it’s not all good news. Each year, around 1,000 vultures are killed in Spain as a result of collisions with poorly placed wind turbines. EU veterinary regulations also mean that fewer dead domestic animals are left out in the open, and this has spelled disaster for all four European vulture species. Particularly in Greece and the Balkans, vultures still also fall victim to some shepherds bad old habit of poisoning carcasses to kill wolves – inevitably, all other scavengers then die off too. Photo: Staffan Widstrand/Wild Wonders of Europe
    SWD-2012-06-30-112843crop.jpg
  • Griffon vulture, Gyps fulvus, and Black vulture, Aegypius monachus,  SPAIN/CAMPANARIOS DE AZÁBA RESERVE, SALAMANCA PROVINCE, CASTILLA Y LEÓN Vulture watching has become increasingly popular and can now be done at several sites in Spain and Portugal, where you can see these amazing birds up close from purpose-built hides. This photo is from a hide in the Campanarios de Azába reserve, run by Fundación Naturaleza y Hombre and a part of the Rewilding Europe initiative. For the first time in European history, live, wild vultures can be worth serious money for the land owners.The comeback of the griffon vulture in Spain is a great conservation success story – from 7,000 pairs in 1980 to approx. 18,000 in 2009. Griffons now breed in 16 European countries and have recently been seen in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.  But it’s not all good news. Each year, around 1,000 vultures are killed in Spain as a result of collisions with poorly placed wind turbines. EU veterinary regulations also mean that fewer dead domestic animals are left out in the open, and this has spelled disaster for all four European vulture species. Particularly in Greece and the Balkans, vultures still also fall victim to some shepherds bad old habit of poisoning carcasses to kill wolves – inevitably, all other scavengers then die off too. Photo: Staffan Widstrand/Wild Wonders of Europe
    SWD-2012-06-30-112354.jpg
  • Black vulture, Aegypius monachus,  SPAIN/CAMPANARIOS DE AZÁBA RESERVE, SALAMANCA PROVINCE, CASTILLA Y LEÓN Vulture watching has become increasingly popular and can now be done at several sites in Spain and Portugal, where you can see these amazing birds up close from purpose-built hides. This photo is from a hide in the Campanarios de Azába reserve, run by Fundación Naturaleza y Hombre and a part of the Rewilding Europe initiative. For the first time in European history, live, wild vultures can be worth serious money for the land owners.The comeback of the griffon vulture in Spain is a great conservation success story – from 7,000 pairs in 1980 to approx. 18,000 in 2009. Griffons now breed in 16 European countries and have recently been seen in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.  But it’s not all good news. Each year, around 1,000 vultures are killed in Spain as a result of collisions with poorly placed wind turbines. EU veterinary regulations also mean that fewer dead domestic animals are left out in the open, and this has spelled disaster for all four European vulture species. Particularly in Greece and the Balkans, vultures still also fall victim to some shepherds bad old habit of poisoning carcasses to kill wolves – inevitably, all other scavengers then die off too. Photo: Staffan Widstrand/Wild Wonders of Europe
    SWD-2012-06-30-112000.jpg
  • Griffon vulture, Gyps fulvus, and Black vulture, Aegypius monachus,  SPAIN/CAMPANARIOS DE AZÁBA RESERVE, SALAMANCA PROVINCE, CASTILLA Y LEÓN Vulture watching has become increasingly popular and can now be done at several sites in Spain and Portugal, where you can see these amazing birds up close from purpose-built hides. This photo is from a hide in the Campanarios de Azába reserve, run by Fundación Naturaleza y Hombre and a part of the Rewilding Europe initiative. For the first time in European history, live, wild vultures can be worth serious money for the land owners.The comeback of the griffon vulture in Spain is a great conservation success story – from 7,000 pairs in 1980 to approx. 18,000 in 2009. Griffons now breed in 16 European countries and have recently been seen in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.  But it’s not all good news. Each year, around 1,000 vultures are killed in Spain as a result of collisions with poorly placed wind turbines. EU veterinary regulations also mean that fewer dead domestic animals are left out in the open, and this has spelled disaster for all four European vulture species. Particularly in Greece and the Balkans, vultures still also fall victim to some shepherds bad old habit of poisoning carcasses to kill wolves – inevitably, all other scavengers then die off too. Photo: Staffan Widstrand/Wild Wonders of Europe
    SWD-2012-06-30-111320 (1).jpg
  • Griffon vulture, Gyps fulvus, SPAIN/CAMPANARIOS DE AZÁBA RESERVE, SALAMANCA PROVINCE, CASTILLA Y LEÓN Vulture watching has become increasingly popular and can now be done at several sites in Spain and Portugal, where you can see these amazing birds up close from purpose-built hides. This photo is from a hide in the Campanarios de Azába reserve, run by Fundación Naturaleza y Hombre and a part of the Rewilding Europe initiative. For the first time in European history, live, wild vultures can be worth serious money for the land owners.The comeback of the griffon vulture in Spain is a great conservation success story – from 7,000 pairs in 1980 to approx. 18,000 in 2009. Griffons now breed in 16 European countries and have recently been seen in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.  But it’s not all good news. Each year, around 1,000 vultures are killed in Spain as a result of collisions with poorly placed wind turbines. EU veterinary regulations also mean that fewer dead domestic animals are left out in the open, and this has spelled disaster for all four European vulture species. Particularly in Greece and the Balkans, vultures still also fall victim to some shepherds bad old habit of poisoning carcasses to kill wolves – inevitably, all other scavengers then die off too. Photo: Staffan Widstrand/Wild Wonders of Europe
    SWD-2012-06-30-110153.jpg
  • Griffon vulture, Gyps fulvus, SPAIN/CAMPANARIOS DE AZÁBA RESERVE, SALAMANCA PROVINCE, CASTILLA Y LEÓN Vulture watching has become increasingly popular and can now be done at several sites in Spain and Portugal, where you can see these amazing birds up close from purpose-built hides. This photo is from a hide in the Campanarios de Azába reserve, run by Fundación Naturaleza y Hombre and a part of the Rewilding Europe initiative. For the first time in European history, live, wild vultures can be worth serious money for the land owners.The comeback of the griffon vulture in Spain is a great conservation success story – from 7,000 pairs in 1980 to approx. 18,000 in 2009. Griffons now breed in 16 European countries and have recently been seen in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.  But it’s not all good news. Each year, around 1,000 vultures are killed in Spain as a result of collisions with poorly placed wind turbines. EU veterinary regulations also mean that fewer dead domestic animals are left out in the open, and this has spelled disaster for all four European vulture species. Particularly in Greece and the Balkans, vultures still also fall victim to some shepherds bad old habit of poisoning carcasses to kill wolves – inevitably, all other scavengers then die off too. Photo: Staffan Widstrand/Wild Wonders of Europe
    SWD-2012-06-30-112838.jpg
  • Griffon vulture, Gyps fulvus, SPAIN/CAMPANARIOS DE AZÁBA RESERVE, SALAMANCA PROVINCE, CASTILLA Y LEÓN Vulture watching has become increasingly popular and can now be done at several sites in Spain and Portugal, where you can see these amazing birds up close from purpose-built hides. This photo is from a hide in the Campanarios de Azába reserve, run by Fundación Naturaleza y Hombre and a part of the Rewilding Europe initiative. For the first time in European history, live, wild vultures can be worth serious money for the land owners.The comeback of the griffon vulture in Spain is a great conservation success story – from 7,000 pairs in 1980 to approx. 18,000 in 2009. Griffons now breed in 16 European countries and have recently been seen in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.  But it’s not all good news. Each year, around 1,000 vultures are killed in Spain as a result of collisions with poorly placed wind turbines. EU veterinary regulations also mean that fewer dead domestic animals are left out in the open, and this has spelled disaster for all four European vulture species. Particularly in Greece and the Balkans, vultures still also fall victim to some shepherds bad old habit of poisoning carcasses to kill wolves – inevitably, all other scavengers then die off too. Photo: Staffan Widstrand/Wild Wonders of Europe
    SWD-2012-06-30-112646 (1).jpg
  • Griffon vulture, Gyps fulvus, SPAIN/CAMPANARIOS DE AZÁBA RESERVE, SALAMANCA PROVINCE, CASTILLA Y LEÓN Vulture watching has become increasingly popular and can now be done at several sites in Spain and Portugal, where you can see these amazing birds up close from purpose-built hides. This photo is from a hide in the Campanarios de Azába reserve, run by Fundación Naturaleza y Hombre and a part of the Rewilding Europe initiative. For the first time in European history, live, wild vultures can be worth serious money for the land owners.The comeback of the griffon vulture in Spain is a great conservation success story – from 7,000 pairs in 1980 to approx. 18,000 in 2009. Griffons now breed in 16 European countries and have recently been seen in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.  But it’s not all good news. Each year, around 1,000 vultures are killed in Spain as a result of collisions with poorly placed wind turbines. EU veterinary regulations also mean that fewer dead domestic animals are left out in the open, and this has spelled disaster for all four European vulture species. Particularly in Greece and the Balkans, vultures still also fall victim to some shepherds bad old habit of poisoning carcasses to kill wolves – inevitably, all other scavengers then die off too. Photo: Staffan Widstrand/Wild Wonders of Europe
    SWD-2012-06-30-112843.jpg
  • Griffon vulture, Gyps fulvus, SPAIN/CAMPANARIOS DE AZÁBA RESERVE, SALAMANCA PROVINCE, CASTILLA Y LEÓN Vulture watching has become increasingly popular and can now be done at several sites in Spain and Portugal, where you can see these amazing birds up close from purpose-built hides. This photo is from a hide in the Campanarios de Azába reserve, run by Fundación Naturaleza y Hombre and a part of the Rewilding Europe initiative. For the first time in European history, live, wild vultures can be worth serious money for the land owners.The comeback of the griffon vulture in Spain is a great conservation success story – from 7,000 pairs in 1980 to approx. 18,000 in 2009. Griffons now breed in 16 European countries and have recently been seen in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.  But it’s not all good news. Each year, around 1,000 vultures are killed in Spain as a result of collisions with poorly placed wind turbines. EU veterinary regulations also mean that fewer dead domestic animals are left out in the open, and this has spelled disaster for all four European vulture species. Particularly in Greece and the Balkans, vultures still also fall victim to some shepherds bad old habit of poisoning carcasses to kill wolves – inevitably, all other scavengers then die off too. Photo: Staffan Widstrand/Wild Wonders of Europe
    SWD-2012-06-30-112645.jpg
  • Griffon vulture, Gyps fulvus, SPAIN/CAMPANARIOS DE AZÁBA RESERVE, SALAMANCA PROVINCE, CASTILLA Y LEÓN Vulture watching has become increasingly popular and can now be done at several sites in Spain and Portugal, where you can see these amazing birds up close from purpose-built hides. This photo is from a hide in the Campanarios de Azába reserve, run by Fundación Naturaleza y Hombre and a part of the Rewilding Europe initiative. For the first time in European history, live, wild vultures can be worth serious money for the land owners.The comeback of the griffon vulture in Spain is a great conservation success story – from 7,000 pairs in 1980 to approx. 18,000 in 2009. Griffons now breed in 16 European countries and have recently been seen in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.  But it’s not all good news. Each year, around 1,000 vultures are killed in Spain as a result of collisions with poorly placed wind turbines. EU veterinary regulations also mean that fewer dead domestic animals are left out in the open, and this has spelled disaster for all four European vulture species. Particularly in Greece and the Balkans, vultures still also fall victim to some shepherds bad old habit of poisoning carcasses to kill wolves – inevitably, all other scavengers then die off too. Photo: Staffan Widstrand/Wild Wonders of Europe
    SWD-2012-06-30-110925.jpg
  • Iberian ibex Capra pyrenaica SPAIN/PEÑA DE FRANCIA MONASTERY, SALAMANCA PROVINCE, CASTILLA Y LEÓN The Iberian ibex are rare and shy all across the Sierra de Francia mountain chain, but suddenly, when you reach the lands of the Monastery of Peña de Francia, they are instead very numerous and very tame. Why is that? Because here they are not hunted. Which also means that what you see here is probably the normal, natural numbers of ibex, and that means hundreds. It also shows that wild animals quickly learn where they are not hunted and then can become much more relaxed in their relation with humans. Hunted to near-extinction, the Iberian ibex is now returning in strong numbers and slowly spreading, all due to strictly enforced protection measures. The ibex population in Spain has increased from fewer than 5,000 individuals in 1980, to an estimated 50–60,000 today. A major conservation success! The first Iberian ibex are now also returning to Portugal, where the local subspecies was wiped out as recently as the year 2000. Many areas in Portugal and Spain are still waiting for reintroductions to speed up that recovery – among them Rewilding Europe’s focus areas Sierra de Gata and Campanarios de Azába in Spain, together with Faia Brava and the Côa Valley in Portugal. The ibex was once one of the most important browsers and grazers all across Southern and Alpine Europe, living comfortably from sea level all the way up to the highest Alps, filling an ecological niche which for the last 5,000 years has been occupied by the domestic sheep. Photo: Staffan Widstrand/Wild Wonders of Europe
    SWD-2011-05-17-135821 outdoor.jpg
  • Griffon vulture, Gyps fulvus, and Black vulture, Aegypius monachus,  SPAIN/CAMPANARIOS DE AZÁBA RESERVE, SALAMANCA PROVINCE, CASTILLA Y LEÓN Vulture watching has become increasingly popular and can now be done at several sites in Spain and Portugal, where you can see these amazing birds up close from purpose-built hides. This photo is from a hide in the Campanarios de Azába reserve, run by Fundación Naturaleza y Hombre and a part of the Rewilding Europe initiative. For the first time in European history, live, wild vultures can be worth serious money for the land owners.The comeback of the griffon vulture in Spain is a great conservation success story – from 7,000 pairs in 1980 to approx. 18,000 in 2009. Griffons now breed in 16 European countries and have recently been seen in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.  But it’s not all good news. Each year, around 1,000 vultures are killed in Spain as a result of collisions with poorly placed wind turbines. EU veterinary regulations also mean that fewer dead domestic animals are left out in the open, and this has spelled disaster for all four European vulture species. Particularly in Greece and the Balkans, vultures still also fall victim to some shepherds bad old habit of poisoning carcasses to kill wolves – inevitably, all other scavengers then die off too. Photo: Staffan Widstrand/Wild Wonders of Europe
    SWD-2012-06-30-112953.jpg
  • Griffon vulture, Gyps fulvus, SPAIN/CAMPANARIOS DE AZÁBA RESERVE, SALAMANCA PROVINCE, CASTILLA Y LEÓN Vulture watching has become increasingly popular and can now be done at several sites in Spain and Portugal, where you can see these amazing birds up close from purpose-built hides. This photo is from a hide in the Campanarios de Azába reserve, run by Fundación Naturaleza y Hombre and a part of the Rewilding Europe initiative. For the first time in European history, live, wild vultures can be worth serious money for the land owners.The comeback of the griffon vulture in Spain is a great conservation success story – from 7,000 pairs in 1980 to approx. 18,000 in 2009. Griffons now breed in 16 European countries and have recently been seen in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.  But it’s not all good news. Each year, around 1,000 vultures are killed in Spain as a result of collisions with poorly placed wind turbines. EU veterinary regulations also mean that fewer dead domestic animals are left out in the open, and this has spelled disaster for all four European vulture species. Particularly in Greece and the Balkans, vultures still also fall victim to some shepherds bad old habit of poisoning carcasses to kill wolves – inevitably, all other scavengers then die off too. Photo: Staffan Widstrand/Wild Wonders of Europe
    SWD-2012-06-30-110651crop.jpg
  • Arctic fox<br />
Alopex lagopus<br />
NORWAY / SVALBARD<br />
The Arctic fox comes in two colour schemes<br />
– light grey and bluish-black. It is an opportunist<br />
that eats almost anything, but when it has a<br />
choice, it specialises in small rodents and birds.<br />
It is a common animal on Greenland, Iceland,<br />
Svalbard and in the Russian Arctic.<br />
In Finland and Scandinavia, it was driven close<br />
to extinction by being hunted and trapped for its<br />
valuable fur. Despite over 75 years of protection,<br />
the mainland Scandinavian population still<br />
remains on the brink of extinction, with only<br />
some 200 adult individuals left in the wild. Supplementary<br />
feeding programmes during winter, and<br />
reintroductions from captive breeding facilities<br />
finally seem to be having some real success. <br />
In 2011 no less than 700 pups were born in the wild.<br />
Nature conservation works!<br />
This is one of the species that Rewilding Europe wants considers <br />
to help reintroduce and restock in the huge Greater Laponia region in Sweden and Norway.<br />
<br />
Photo: Mireille de la Lez / Wild Wonders of Europe
    MLL-2008-07-30-4574-Outdoor.jpg
  • Arctic fox<br />
Alopex lagopus<br />
NORWAY / SVALBARD<br />
The Arctic fox comes in two colour schemes<br />
– light grey and bluish-black. It is an opportunist<br />
that eats almost anything, but when it has a<br />
choice, it specialises in small rodents and birds.<br />
It is a common animal on Greenland, Iceland,<br />
Svalbard and in the Russian Arctic.<br />
In Finland and Scandinavia, it was driven close<br />
to extinction by being hunted and trapped for its<br />
valuable fur. Despite over 75 years of protection,<br />
the mainland Scandinavian population still<br />
remains on the brink of extinction, with only<br />
some 200 adult individuals left in the wild. Supplementary<br />
feeding programmes during winter, and<br />
reintroductions from captive breeding facilities<br />
finally seem to be having some real success. <br />
In 2011 no less than 700 pups were born in the wild.<br />
Nature conservation works!<br />
This is one of the species that Rewilding Europe wants considers <br />
to help reintroduce and restock in the huge Greater Laponia region in Sweden and Norway.<br />
<br />
Photo: Mireille de la Lez / Wild Wonders of Europe
    MLL-2008-07-30-4574-Outdoor.jpg
  • White tailed sea eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) Flatanger, Norway. August 2008. ..White-tailed sea eagle catching mackerel (Haliaeetus albicilla and Scomber scombrus), NORWAY/FLATANGER, NORD-TRÖNDELAG. The Sea Eagle is another real comeback species in Europe. Persecuted during centuries and finally almost lost to chemical pollutants in the 1970s, it is quickly reclaiming most of its former territories across Europe. Germany hosted 530 pairs in 2009, Sweden 600, Finland 300 and Norway an estimated 4,000 pairs. It was re-introduced to Scotland in 1975 and by 2009 the UK had about 50 pairs. In 1992 it was re-introduced to Denmark, which by 2009 had 21 breeding pairs. It was also re-introduced to Ireland in 2007 and is slowly spreading southwards in Europe on its own. 2006 saw the first breeding pair The Netherlands for centuries. Everywhere, the sea eagle's successful comeback is a clear result of devoted, hard work by individual citizens, businesses, NGOs and public agencies. Yes, we can make a difference! Nature conservation works!
    SWD-2008-08-08-210349-02.jpg