"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
"BAC" writes:
|
| Trouble is, when predators are introduced in the hope they will deal
with a
| problem population, you're never certain what they'll actually choose
to
| eat.

In the case of the most relevant ones, lynx and wolves, we have a
pretty good idea. The former are unlikely to harm anything that
is endangered - and probably wouldn't even kill many cats, which
many people would regret.

I understand one thing European Lynx do is attempt to suppress the fox
population within their hunting range - perhaps because foxes are reputedly
the number one predator of immature roe deer. If released lynx were to start
killing people's pets, their future would be bleak, IMO.


| Interestingly, the population of Roe Deer is said to have plummeted
when it
| lost Royal protection status back in the middle ages, from which I'd
guess
| it used to be effectively kept in check by hungry commoners. So I'd
have to
| add changes in dietary preferences (or a reduction in persecution,
depending
| on your POV)to my list of possible human contributory 'causes'.

And it exploded when people no longer walked through fields with
guns and dogs, and dogs were not allowed to roam at night.


I suspect it's true that fairly widespread human predation on Roe deer in
the UK used to help keep the wild population numbers low.