After a 3,000 year hiatus, the mighty elk could soon return to England. Plans to reintroduce this towering creature were announced last week, as part of a growing movement to bring back lost species and help restore our natural ecosystems. But the uncomfortable truth is that restoration doesn’t just mean bringing certain animals back, but taking some away.
Free to wallow, trample, graze, and knock down trees to create clearings, elk would reshape the small corner of England we give them for the better. Like beavers building dams or lynx hunting their prey, elk are a keystone species. They are critical for maintaining the balance and biodiversity of their wetland ecosystem and will help to reverse our fortunes as one of the world’s most nature-depleted countries.
Britain has lost many of its keystone creatures and, with them, much of the natural order that once kept our ecosystems in check
Britain has lost many of its keystone creatures and, with them, much of the natural order that once kept our ecosystems in check.
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