UK Conservation Projects

  • Birds Helping Birds

    Bird species that live in their natural habitats can help zoos learn how to manage those in captivity. Likewise, birds living in captivity can inform conservation for wild birds, new research has shown. Both can help educate the public on threats facing bird species and encourage human behaviour change.

    By Alex Taylor on 6th July 2021
  • Fingerprint Technology Aids Fight Against Pangolin Poaching

    Forensic fingerprinting techniques will now be used in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade. The new techniques will allow fingerprints from pangolin scales to be lifted so poachers and smugglers can be brought to justice.

    By Alex Taylor on 5th October 2018
  • Wolf Reintroduction in Scotland

    New research on wolf reintroduction in Scotland indicates that for them to be effective at directly reducing red deer numbers and allowing nature to recover in the Highlands, they may need to be reintroduced to very large fenced reserve.

    By Alex Taylor on 29th July 2018
  • British Mammals Extinction Risk

    A report launched by The Mammal Society and Natural England is the first comprehensive review of British mammals for 20 years. It found almost one in five species face a high risk of extinction.

    By Alex Taylor on 17th June 2018
  • Lynx Reintroduction in the UK

    The Eurasian Lynx could make a return to the UK after a absence of 1300 years, after a proposal to reintroduce them into Kielder Forest has been submitted by the Lynx Trust.

    By Alex Taylor on 20th August 2017
  • UK’s First Refuge for Hedgehogs

    Just six decades ago, hedgehogs numbered around 36 million. There are now less than one million. In an attempt to reverse this decline, the first large-scale hedgehog conservation area in the UK opened last week.

    By Alex Taylor on 25th March 2015
  • The Highland Tiger

    Once found across the UK, wildcats are now confined to north of the Central Belt in Scotland. They are so rare and elusive that population estimates have been as low as 35, making them 70 times rarer than the giant panda.

    By Alex Taylor on 2nd December 2014
  • The Big Butterfly Count

    Nearly 45,000 people took part this year, during a three week period in July and August. Now, the results are in…

    By Alex Taylor on 25th September 2014
  • Operation Turtle Dove

    The Turtle Dove is one of England’s most threatened farmland birds. Since the 1970s, it has declined by 93% and there has been a reduction in breeding attempts from up to four per year to just one.

    By Alex Taylor on 1st October 2013
  • Conservation Success for Rare UK Bird

    Conservationists revealed that an innovative project has increased numbers of black-throated divers from a low of 180 pairs in the late 1980s, when the project first started, to 240 pairs in 2012. The project aimed to recreate ideal breeding habitat for the birds to nest and raise their chicks.

    By Alex Taylor on 24th July 2013