Recovery of large carnivores in Europe’s modern human-dominated landscapes

The conservation of large carnivores is a formidable challenge for biodiversity conservation. Using a data set on the past and current status of brown bears (Ursus arctos), Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), gray wolves (Canis lupus), and wolverines (Gulo gulo) in European countries, we show that roughly one-third of mainland Europe hosts at least one large carnivore species, with stable or increasing abundance in most cases in 21st-century records. The reasons for this overall conservation success include protective legislation, supportive public opinion, and a variety of practices making coexistence between large carnivores and people possible. The European situation reveals that large carnivores and people can share the same landscape.

大型食肉动物保护是生物多样性保护工作中的一项艰巨挑战。本研究依托涵盖欧洲各国棕熊（Ursus arctos）、欧亚猞猁（Lynx lynx）、灰狼（Canis lupus）及狼獾（Gulo gulo）历史与现状的数据集，研究表明欧洲大陆约三分之一的区域至少栖息有一种大型食肉动物，且根据21世纪的监测记录，多数物种种群数量保持稳定或呈增长态势。本次保护整体取得成功的原因包括完善的保护立法、公众的支持性态度，以及一系列可实现大型食肉动物与人类共存的实践举措。欧洲的实践案例证明，大型食肉动物与人类完全可以共享同一栖息空间。