Rewilding Needs a Reality Check: Humans, Hunting, and Genuine Coexistence

The concept of "rewilding" carries immense appeal, evoking romantic visions of pristine ecosystems restored to their untouched, original states. Recent discussions about reintroducing wolves to places like New York's Adirondacks illustrate its popularity. But beneath this idealistic image lie serious contradictions, unrealistic expectations, and outright hypocrisies that deserve honest attention.

PROPONENTS OF REWILDING

Most modern rewilding initiatives are championed by anti-hunting groups that enthusiastically support reintroducing apex predators yet vehemently oppose regulated, scientifically-driven hunting. This position ignores a critical truth: humans have historically always been integral components of ecosystems, not passive observers. Responsible hunting has long played an essential role in balancing wildlife populations, preventing overpopulation and starvation, funding conservation efforts, and ensuring predators retain a healthy, natural fear of humans.

A significant factor fueling unrealistic visions of rewilding is anthropomorphism—the attribution of human emotions, traits, and motivations to animals. While appealing emotionally, anthropomorphism often distorts our understanding of wildlife, replacing science-based perspectives with sentimental assumptions. Predators, for instance, aren't motivated by human concepts of fairness or compassion, but by instinct and survival. Applying anthropomorphic ideals to wildlife management undermines effective conservation practices and misrepresents the realities of nature.

REALITY

Take California’s mountain lions, particularly those in El Dorado County, as an example. Without active management and regulated hunting, these predators are losing their instinctual fear of humans, resulting in increasingly dangerous encounters. The absence of human management doesn’t restore “wildness”; it disrupts ecological balance, creating unnatural situations that endanger both wildlife and human populations.

Many rewilding proponents frequently point to Yellowstone National Park as their ideal model. Yet Yellowstone is fundamentally different from everyday human communities like Denver, Bozeman, or even the Adirondacks. Yellowstone is effectively a controlled hybrid zoo, meticulously regulated to manage human-wildlife interactions—and even then, problematic encounters still occur frequently. To consider Yellowstone a template for rewilding elsewhere is unrealistic and misleading.

COEXISTENCE OR COHABITATION?

Furthermore, the narrative pushed by rewilding advocates often conflates genuine coexistence with unrealistic notions of cohabitation. Coexistence involves shared landscapes with mutual respect, active management, and a healthy, instinctive fear that wildlife maintains toward humans. Cohabitation, however, represents a naive fantasy where wildlife and humans supposedly occupy the same space without conflict or management—an idealized vision more suited to a Disney film than ecological reality.

Imagine taking this cohabitation logic to its extreme: reintroducing grizzly bears to downtown San Francisco, where they historically roamed. Such a scenario immediately highlights the absurdity and reveals the critical flaws in the romanticized vision of rewilding without human management.

An essential truth often ignored is that humans themselves are inherently wild. Our evolution, cultures, and survival have always depended on our active, direct participation in nature—through hunting, gathering, and managing our surroundings. Removing this human dimension from rewilding isn't merely unrealistic; it's profoundly unnatural, stripping ecosystems of their genuine ecological balance.

REASONABLE APPROACH

If we're truly serious about rewilding, we must embrace an honest vision of genuine coexistence, one that actively includes responsible, scientifically-informed hunting and wildlife management. True wildness isn’t a sanitized landscape absent of humans—it’s a dynamic, balanced environment where humans responsibly engage with nature, sustaining ecological integrity for generations to come.

Wildlife deserves better than superficial campaigns and unrealistic visions. It deserves authentic stewardship rooted in reality, respect, and responsible management, including the active role humans have historically played as predators and conservationists.