As part of her studies at Nottingham College Basford, Volunteer Ranger Helen has produced a report on the impact of human threats to local wildlife populations.
Helen notes that Wollaton Park, a unique urban wildlife haven, illustrates the complex interactions between humans and wild animals. Despite warning signs, visitors frequently approach the wild deer herds too closely, and inappropriate feeding have created dependency and health risks for both deer and waterfowl.
The report identified the following additional key issues affecting Wollaton Park.
- Impact of Dog Walkers: Dogs, especially off-lead, disturb bird life in nature reserves, particularly ground-nesting birds, leading to abandoned eggs and chicks.
- Inappropriate Feeding of Wildlife: Visitors feeding deer and waterfowl inappropriate food, leading to health issues and dependency on humans for food.
- Deer Population Management: The need for deer population management due to the absence of predators, to maintain the welfare of the deer population
- Pollution: This includes air pollution from cars, which damages respiratory systems and affects wildlife reproduction, as well as noise and light pollution that disrupts wildlife behaviour and distribution.
The report also addresses the ethical implications of wildlife management. In the absence of natural predators, deer population control is necessary to maintain herd health, raising questions about the balance between intervention and natural processes. The necessity of active management, including controlled feeding and habitat manipulation, contrasts with the ideal of self-sustaining ecosystems
Ultimately, the report argues for a proactive approach to conservation, advocating for rewilding, reintroductions, and stricter legislation to mitigate human-induced damage. It concludes that safeguarding Nottinghamshire’s wildlife is not only an ethical imperative but also crucial for the well-being of human communities.
Helen notes: “In an ideal world, we would not interfere with wildlife and ecosystems would be self-sustaining, but extinctions and pollution mean that we need to give the natural world a helping hand as recompense for the damage we have caused and inevitably will continue to cause”.
If you would like to discuss any of these issues, or other issues such as litter and over foraging, please seek out one of the Volunteer Rangers, seen wearing Green Hi-Vis jackets and have chat.