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No matter where you live, and large carnivores inspire awe as well as instil fear.

Large predators have been heavily persecuted and removed from areas where they once lived because of with livestock graziers.

Beyond their large teeth, sharp claws and iconic status, is finding they are crucially important in ecosystems. So there is considerable interest in to areas where they once lived, as part of a shift towards .

Bringing back carnivores is , but it’s a potentially powerful conservation tool.

Rewilding dingoes and Tasmanian devils in Australia could benefit many of our troubled ecosystems, by keeping herbivore numbers down, keeping feral cats and foxes fearful, and triggering a rebound in vegetation and small animal populations.

Predators vs prey

Predators can affect their prey’s behaviour. When prey species know a predator is around and perceive risk to their survival, they change how they behave.

The predators create can make it harder for prey species to survive.

That’s often good for ecosystems. The effect of dingoes in reducing, say, kangaroo and wallaby populations and changing their behaviour, can actually help bring back plants and smaller animals through a ““. For example, wolves chasing, eating and scaring deer can lead to an increase in the growth of plants, which can benefit other species.

Predators also affect . If humans poison, shoot, trap and exclude top predators like dingoes, smaller predators can increase in number and get bolder, in a phenomenon called . In California, when coyotes disappeared due to habitat destruction, populations of smaller predators such as cats grew and songbird numbers fell.

How is it done?

can occur passively, by changing laws to stop the exclusion or killing of large carnivores and making areas more favourable for carnivores to live. When this happens, species often move back by themselves. Encouragingly, this is happening in , including a recent sighting of a wolf in Brandenburg, Germany.

In other cases, rewilding may need a more active approach, such as physically moving animals to an area. The return of wolves to Yellowstone ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Park and the that followed is a famous example of this, although in recent times the details of this story have been .

When does rewilding work best? shows wild-born animals fare better than captive-born animals, though the results are far from conclusive. Wild-born animals may have an edge due to their skills in hunting and defending territories for survival.

Rewilding in Australia means bringing back dingoes

Once carnivores are killed or fenced off from an area, the ecosystem changes. Will we restore nature by bringing them back? Potentially – but it’s not guaranteed.
Australia’s controversial canine, , is a perfect example. Aside from humans, dingoes are Australia’s only living land predator over 15 kilograms.

Dingoes have a vital role in , such as keeping populations of under control. They can also take down feral goats. Their natural control of herbivores means plants can bounce back, as well as making room for smaller animals. Their effect on plant life may even affect the height and shape of .

In some parts of Australia, kangaroo populations . Land clearing for pasture favours kangaroos, as do the dams and water troughs for livestock, the killing off of dingoes and the ending of First Nations Peoples’ cultural practices and hunting.

At times, these population booms have led to sudden crashes, with widespread starvation in droughts. Harvesting kangaroos is one response, but this is often controversial and unpopular. Bringing would help reduce kangaroo numbers in a way more palatable to many people.

When present, dingoes also keep a lid on our worst introduced predators, feral cats and , either by eating them or forcing them to alter . If cats and foxes have to be more careful, it may benefit their smaller prey.

We could rewild dingoes very easily by removing large barriers like the . This, of course, would trigger pushback from livestock graziers worried about attacks on their stock.

It doesn’t have to be this way though. We’ve learned a lot about ways to between farmers and predators. It’s now entirely possible for livestock producers and top predators to coexist. Western Australian farmers are already using guardian animals such as to protect livestock.

So should we do it?

Australia has been slow to support and attempt large carnivore rewilding. But we can learn valuable lessons from the relocation of Tasmanian devils to an offshore haven, Maria Island.

Devils were introduced to safeguard the species against the severe population decline from devil facial tumour disease. These predators were not native to Maria Island, but they’ve flourished. One unexpected side effect was the on the island’s little penguin population.

Rewilding comes with risks. But it also comes with major benefits, which may help our and .

Time is short. Conservation must take calculated and informed risks to achieve better outcomes. attempts are valuable, even when things don’t go entirely as planned.

What else could we do? Discussions over the carefully planned to mainland Australia continue. If the devils come back to the mainland for the first time in thousands of years, help to manage herbivore and feral cat populations.

Rewilding is not about recreating the of wilderness. Humans have for millennia.

If rewilding and ecological restoration is to succeed, , including First Nations groups, must be involved.

Euan G. Ritchie is a Councillor within the Biodiversity Council, and a member of the Ecological Society of Australia and the Australian Mammal Society.