Rewilding was originally born out of the three C’s – cores, corridors, and carnivores. This advocated core habitats, such as national parks, be linked by ecological corridors of viable habitat and where appropriate carnivores reintroduced to drive trophic cascades. For example, in Yellowstone National Park, reintroduced wolves led to a reduction in elk numbers, which meant trees bounced back due to reduced grazing.
This in turn meant songbirds returned and beaver numbers increased, who used the new trees to dam up the rivers and change their entire flows. We advocate for the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) definition of Cores, Corridors and Co-existence. Here co-existence has replaced carnivores, not because they shouldn’t be reintroduced where appropriate, but because we need to learn to live alongside wildlife happily, both in our urban and rural areas.