Bustards, are reintroduced to Salisbury Plain, which became extinct in the UK by 1832. They disappeared from the UK after being hunted to extinction. They have also vanished from France, Poland, Germany, Sweden and Holland. The project to bring the great bustard back has received a £1,8m boost from the European Union. But the £1.8m grant would not end the funding worries for the scheme, as around a quarter of costs would still need to be found by the project partners. The funding will provide them a properly resourced project and the equipment they need. The reintroduced birds come from Russia and had its first major breakthrough in 2009 when the population produced the first chicks to hatch in the wild in this country for 177 years. Last year, four chicks were known to have hatched. A small UK population of around 18 birds has been built up under the scheme. As the population becomes established, their survival chances should hopefully get better. PhD student John Burnside said: “Bustards learn a lot of their behaviour from each other and so the newly introduced chicks have to learn quickly how to feed, survive and avoid predators without the help of their mother”.
My reaction:
I think it is wonderful to bring back the great bustard because it was a bird that lived in the UK and should live in the UK. It is not like they try to bring back the mammoth but just a bird that disappeared from the UK. But I do wonder if it really is necessary to bring the bustard back because it costs a lot of money, and they are only extinct in some countries but not all over the world, and maybe they will be hunted again what leads to their second extinction in the UK.
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten