"Its time to put the UK's wildlife back on the map!"
Close your eyes and think of an endangered animal. For how many of you did a species native to the UK spring to mind? So often when conservation is mentioned we tend to think of the weird and wonderful exotic species that reside in our remaining rainforests and jungles or icy plains. And who can blame us?….We live in a world that is blessed with the diversity of incredible species that have most of us in awe. But what about the wildlife that lives right on our doorstep? When studying my degree, a lot of focus was purposefully based around the management and conservation of UK native species, and rightly so. They are so undervalued by many to the point that they are often over looked and forgotten about.
With that being said, I decided that I wanted to delve more into the world of British wildlife, and the species that are currently facing the challenge of survival against the ever increasing urbanisation of their habitats. Living in the UK, we may fall short of large predators (we can thank our predecessors for that ) as we hunted them all to extinction, however, that’s not to say we don’t still have an impressive group of remaining native wonders that deserve and NEED our attention.
I want to explore more into their world, particularly focusing on those that need our help. The number of critically endangered species in the UK is ever increasing across all classifications. As a result UK is now considered to be one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. Whilst conservation needs to be a global effort, we cannot afford to overlook the species that shape the very ecosystems that we live amongst. Alongside the orangutans and polar bears, we must attend to our own wildlife with just as much urgency and importance.
In the hope to further my knowledge alongside my own interactions, I will be investigating the work of those that selflessly dedicate their time to these species, from rescue work to habitat management, with the goal of once more seeing the UK’s wildlife thrive. If you have any recommendations of organisations that deserve more recognition please leave the name of them in the comments below, as i would love to get in touch. It’s time to put the UK’s wildlife back on the map!
