Across the River Wolf and along several miles of muddy Devon lanes lies Derek Gow’s lair. Inside a crepuscular barn filled with a pungent aroma, an imposing, bearded Scot sits surrounded by his collection of animal skulls, stuffed beavers, taxidermied badgers and birds of prey. A distinctive stench wafts from the head of an ibex mounted on the wall. The barn is badged as an education centre but it would terrify some visitors.

The gothic setting reaches its peak when suddenly, a gunshot is heard nearby. Gow appears calm and explains, “She’s not hunting anything,” referring to the farmer nearby. “It’s just a gas gun, attempting to frighten some lazy geese.”

Gow, a previous sheep farmer, has emerged as a notable individual in the field of British conservation. Following his employment at multiple zoos, he initiated the practice of breeding water voles in captivity 25 years ago. Since then, in collaboration with conservation organizations and landowners, he has successfully reintroduced 25,000 of these highly endangered mammals into wetland habitats. The “vole room” on his restored farm continues to produce 1,000 water voles annually.

Together with voles, he began to reproduce beavers for enclosed restoration initiatives throughout the United Kingdom. Some escaped and currently constitute a thriving community, residing freely along the 60-mile River Tamar between Devon and Cornwall. In the last 15 years, other beavers have inexplicably appeared on river networks throughout the country. Gow denies it was his doing, but beavers have been officially acknowledged as a native species once more. After publishing a well-received book on reintroducing beavers, this former sheep enthusiast is now writing about the sheep’s arch-nemesis and the most contentious contender for being reintroduced to Britain: the wolf.

During conferences on rewilding, peaceful conservationists often approach Gow and state, “Our purpose here is not to discuss the wolf.” Gow then inquires, “Why not?” To which they respond, “The adversaries of rewilding already hold a disdain for you. It is highly unlikely that you will be able to sway their opinions.”

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He aims to initiate a discussion about the reintroduction of the wolf, not solely due to its reputation as a vilified carnivore, but also because it has made a comeback in Western Europe and is thriving in heavily populated nations such as the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, all of which have a shared history of fearsome folktale creatures. “The larger predators were our primary targets,” he remarks. “It is not very mature to view every animal, starting with the badger, as a major threat and the only solution is to eliminate them. If we cannot learn to coexist with big predators, we will never truly understand and appreciate nature and other forms of life on our planet.”

Let’s first explore Gow’s search for the wolf throughout British history, in which he combines legendary tales, ancient documents, and contemporary ecology to reveal that wolves have a stronger presence in our natural surroundings than we realize. But before that, he walks with me through the 400-acre farm that he is transforming back into its natural state.

Driving in Gow’s small off-road vehicle, we weave through the muddy fields, with no seat belts on and our wheels spinning. This area used to be a familiar English countryside with green fields, but now Gow is transforming it into a different kind of paradise. He knows his land by the color of each field – the vivid green areas are the “improved” fields belonging to his neighbors, where a single type of grass dominates and livestock grazes. In contrast, Gow’s fields are a raggedy yellow, but come summer, they will bloom with wildflowers like yellow rattle and knapweeds.

The neighboring farmers are unhappy with the overgrown hedges of Gow’s land. He has also made things worse by dumping piles of broken concrete and dead branches in once beautiful pastures. These branches serve as perches for wild birds, whose droppings will lead to more trees. The concrete piles will attract wheatears in the winter and adders in the summer. Gow has also dug 100 ponds and channels to help declining bird populations, such as woodcocks and snipes. The beavers will play their part by building dams in small streams, creating more wetlands. Scientific research has proven that with the return of these wetlands, there is also an increase in insects, amphibians, reptiles, and birds, in large numbers.

According to Gow, while it may not be a major transformation, there has been some progress seen in response to efforts being made on the farm. For example, the population of small red damselflies has grown from 40 to 670 in just three years. Other bird species such as kestrels, barn owls, cranes, goshawks, and nightjars have also returned to the area. In addition, there are now large flocks of goldfinch numbering in the hundreds. Never did Gow imagine that this farm would become a popular spot for bird-watching enthusiasts.

Gow’s rewilding project is supported by his environmental consulting work, as well as sponsorships from individuals such as environmentalist and financier Ben Goldsmith. According to Gow, Goldsmith is a kind and capable person and his accomplishments will one day be recognized. Gow also hopes to collaborate with other like-minded landowners and investors to further his efforts. Recently, pension-fund managers visited his farm to discuss purchasing more land along the river to protect the beavers living there. Although some of Gow’s neighbors express concerns about potential food production loss, he maintains that the land in question was originally a wetlands and has only been used for small-scale livestock farming.

Gow understands that his personal efforts to restore nature are just one small part of the larger issue of depleted nature in Britain. His main contribution is breeding certain species on a larger scale. At 58 years old, he is determined to make a difference. “I want to focus on species that are struggling,” he explains. He is currently producing water voles, but this year he will also focus on captive-breeding adders to help connect isolated populations of this rapidly decreasing snake species. In addition, he is involved in breeding turtle doves, white and black storks, and glowworms, with future plans to breed mole crickets and other bird species. “We hope to also work on red-backed shrikes later this year, and we have a goal to successfully breed black grouse in this area.”

Gow, known for his lack of politeness towards conservationists and farmers, expresses disapproval towards conservation scientists for their cautiousness in reintroducing species. He believes that environmentalists, who sacrifice their lives every year fighting against ranchers in the Amazon, are more successful in their efforts than the inept scientists. Though he may secretly admire the farmers for their action-oriented approach, he believes that most of them only become reflective about the damage their agricultural practices have caused when they retire. He fears that by the time he reaches his 70s, it will be too late for him to enact any change and he does not want to regret not taking action sooner. He is determined to take action, even if he fails.

The conservation “inertia” he criticises is derived, he believes, from a terror of making mistakes. “When we began with water voles we must’ve spent six years killing water voles in different ways, and then we got it right, and learned how to breed them,” he says. “There’s no such thing as mistakes, it’s just learning. It becomes a mistake when you continue fucking it up in the same sort of way.”

Gow’s goal is to breed 30 wildcat offspring annually for a potential reintroduction in Devon and Cornwall. Despite years of debate regarding the reintroduction of non-threatening predator species, like wildcats, it has become clear to Gow that bringing wolves back to Britain would be a challenging and contentious endeavor. The issue of introducing wolves has become a divisive aspect of a larger conflict between rural and urban areas. “When speaking to people in urban areas such as London, the idea of reintroducing wolves is often met with excitement. However, in meetings held in rural areas…” Gow’s expression turns grave.

The person is still upset about a recent meeting in the Cairngorms regarding the release of beavers and wildcats in the national park. A group of confrontational farmers arrived in their tractors to protest. They claim that by releasing four beavers and 18 wildcat kittens, the farmers are being ignored, despite the fact that they are the original inhabitants and provide food. The farmers raised their voices and aggressively expressed their displeasure, causing the national park authorities, who are not confrontational, to back down. The person compares the farmers’ behavior to that of speaking to a Norman overlord, stating that one would not do so more than once.

Gow’s understanding of the rulers of Norman descent stems from his extensive study of the traumatic history of wolves in Britain. His fascination with the subject began when his mother would tell him tales of “the final wolf” in Scotland during his childhood. He also gained firsthand experience by raising two wolves during his time as a zookeeper. Being a self-taught individual, Gow approached the topic with an open mind and thoroughly examined all the myths surrounding the heroic extermination of “last” wolves, which had been passed down through generations in oral tradition in certain parts of Scotland. He explains, “The goal is to tell a story that is comical, despite the gruesome elements of flaying and disembowelment, but also has a sense of warmth to it.”

He assembled stories from chance discoveries of witchcraft books in used bookstores and verified them with both scholarly accounts and current understanding of the environment. Gow is convinced that wolves persisted in Scotland until the late 1700s, and with evidence that young wolves today can travel over 1,250 miles in Europe, it’s possible that they also roamed into England multiple times.

According to Gow, wolves were seen as an embodiment of the untamed, inhuman, and wicked, residing in the northern regions of England. They were despised for digging graves and consuming human remains during times of war and disease. Although Gow acknowledges the danger posed by wolves, there are few documented cases of attacks on humans in modern western Europe. Instead of being a real threat, wolves have become a scapegoat. Perhaps the stories of women and children being killed by wolves were simply a way to conceal incidents of domestic violence perpetrated by males during that time period. While it cannot be proven, Gow suggests that this may have been the case. Ultimately, wolves were exterminated not because they posed a danger, but because they threatened the wealth of medieval Britain by preying on sheep, a valuable source of wool. According to Gow, wolves and sheep have been adversaries since ancient times.

Ecologists have estimated that Scotland has the capacity to support 50 to 94 packs of wolves. Gow believes that reintroducing wolves would have numerous positive impacts on the environment, particularly in controlling the rapidly increasing population of 2 million deer. These deer are damaging rare plant species and hindering the growth of trees due to their high density. However, the biggest challenge for the reintroduction of wolves in Scotland continues to be the presence of sheep.

According to Gow, he agrees with the rewilders’ ideology, as demonstrated by George Monbiot, that sheep are detrimental to the environment and are accountable for the lack of nature in upland Britain. Unlike North America, where national parks use symbols such as bears, the Yorkshire Dales national park represents itself with a Swaledale sheep. Gow questions if this decision is simply a reflection of the British ignorance and failure to recognize its shortcomings. He also points out that landscapes with high numbers of sheep have lower insect populations and suffer from erosion, loss of vegetation, flooding, and pollution.

The wealth derived from wool is disappearing and Gow claims that sheep farming is an industry in decline. The argument of “food security” is invalid as a significant portion of British lamb is actually exported. However, despite this, subsidies for sheep farming remain in place. Providing financial support to sheep farmers in remote areas like Bodmin only delays the inevitable hardship and exacerbates mental health problems and environmental damage.

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It appears that Gow harbors a deeply personal aversion towards sheep, given his extensive history of caring for them. His son currently manages a flock of sheep on the farm, some of which were previously owned by Gow’s late mother who used to show Shetland sheep. Despite her passing in 2006, Gow questions whether she would have wanted him to keep the sheep, but he no longer takes pleasure in them. It seems his relationship with sheep has come to an end, but he acknowledges the emotional attachment people have towards these vulnerable animals. He also points out the irony of domestic animals being glorified on television, only to end up as food in a few months’ time. As the old saying goes: sheep spend their lives fearing the wolf, only to be consumed by the shepherd.

Sheep herders in France are expressing concern about the increasing number of wolves in the country, as they prey on around 12,000 livestock animals, mostly sheep, every year. Researcher Gow highlights that in 2016, 15,000 sheep were killed by uncontrolled dogs in Britain. He suggests the use of advanced techniques, such as a special collar for sheep that releases a wolf pheromone, proven to protect sheep in Switzerland. This solution could potentially promote a peaceful coexistence between farmers and wolves.

He believes that the wolf will only be allowed back into Britain when future generations are in control. He suggests that there will be a shift in cultural norms that will make this possible. It’s important to start having discussions about it now. If wolves are already hunting deer in urban areas in Belgium, why not here? Today, there are even people in cities who are fascinated by seeing a wolf. Does this indicate a shift towards acceptance? 150 years ago, with a medieval mindset, none of this would have been tolerated. We have made progress since then, giving us hope for the future. However, it is still a murky situation.

The book “Hunt for the Shadow Wolf” by Derek Gow is available now through Chelsea Green for £20. You can purchase it for £17.60 at guardianbookshop.com.

Source: theguardian.com