Wildlife in the Forest (General)

by rookancestrybest , United Kingdom, Thursday, January 14, 2010, 22:02 (5502 days ago) @ jhopkins

I read about the wild boar cull recently myself, I think on teletext or something similar. I think I remember that last year one ran amock in a school somewhere in the Forest of Dean too and had to be put down as it was a threat to the children. Wild boar are very rare in Britain these days and the Forest of Dean is one of the few places they can be found in large numbers. Attempts are being made to reintroduce them to other parts of the country, I don't know why they can't just "rehome" them elsewhere without killing them, but as a vegetarian I would say that wouldn't I?!!
The Forest of Dean is a very special place for a range of rare species of other animals too. I can remember I was there once in the 1970s and saw a snake. We don't have many snakes in England and many people can live their lives without ever seeing any, but this was an adder and is probably one of only two snakes I've ever seen in the wild in the UK. When my family lived in the area (they left the area in the 1870s) they saw salmon regularly in the River Wye. At Slimbridge there is a very special place for viewing a range of wild birds too.