Britain's Large Herbivores
by The Large Herbivore Working Group
Aim
Championing & supporting the return of large herbivores to the UK in an ecologically sound way, through the provision of expertise & resources.
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Member Organisations
Environmental benefits
Vegetation Diversity
Different herbivores shape vegetation in unique ways – their combined grazing, browsing, and rootling behaviour creates a varied mosaic landscape of grassland, scrub, bare ground and regenerating woodland. This increased structural diversity boosts biodiversity and bioabundance whilst also reducing fire risk.
Increasing Soil Health
The combined effects of dung, urine, trampling, and carcass breakdown by herbivores enrich soil fertility and microbial life. Each species creates a differing level of disturbance, which improves aeration and seed germination, supporting sustainable productivity and long-term carbon storage in soils.
Complex Food Web
Diverse herbivore species together support complex food webs by providing resources like dung, carcasses, and disturbed ground. These support scavengers, insect populations and soil organisms, which in turn sustain birds, bats, mammals and other wildlife across the food web.
Natural Disturbance
Herbivores facilitate natural disturbance processes, such as creating open spaces and dispersing seeds, which enhance habitat diversity and encourage the establishment of pioneer species. This supports ecological succession, increases habitat resilience to threats like drought or disease and helps maintain diverse, functional ecosystems.
Eco Tourism
The presence of varied herbivore species brings natural processes to life to connect people with nature. Their role in shaping the landscape enhances ecotourism, provides employment and volunteering opportunities and supports education and engagement with nature recovery efforts.
Large Herbivore Profile: Carcasses
Carrion plays a vital role in nutrient cycling, enhancing biodiversity and restoring ecological balance. Allowing large animal carcasses to decompose naturally is essential for healthy ecosystems.
Large Herbivore Profile: Cattle
Cattle are commonly introduced to nature recovery initiatives as an ecological proxy for the extinct auroch, a megafaunal ancestor that was present in Britain in the Holocene.
Large Herbivore Profile: Herbivore Assemblages
The introduction of a diverse guild of herbivores maximises nature recovery by increasing biodiversity and restoring key ecosystem functions.
Large Herbivore Profile: Eurasian Elk
The Eurasian elk is the largest of the deer family. Elk is thought to have gone extinct in Britain around 4,000 years ago as a result of excessive hunting, but their populations and range in western Europe has increased in recent years.
Large Herbivore Profile: European Bison
The European bison is Europe’s largest land animal and a close relative of the Steppe Bison, an extinct species once native to Britain in the Pleistocene. Although the European bison came close to extinction in mainland
Large Herbivore Profile: Fallow Deer
Fallow deer are considered a naturalised species in Britain. Although there is no evidence of their occurrence in the Holocene, they were thought to have been introduced around 2,000 years ago.
Large Herbivore Profile: Red Deer
Red deer are Britain’s largest remaining native wild herbivore. Once widespread across the country, their numbers declined dramatically by the 18th century due to hunting and habitat loss.
Large Herbivore Profile: Roe Deer
Roe deer are widespread across Europe, both the numbers and range of roe deer in Britain fell dramatically between the 17th and early 20th century due to excessive hunting. Introductions from Europe helped recover the species,
Large Herbivore Profile: Water Buffalo
Domesticated water buffalo serve as an ecological proxy for the extinct Eurasian water buffalo, which once ranged across temperate Europe until approximately 12,000 years ago. Whilst there is currently no evidence that Eurasian water buffalo were ever present in
Large Herbivore Profile: Wild Boar
Wild boar were once a widespread species in Britain, but excessive hunting and habitat loss led to their extinction in the 17th century. Escapes and illegal releases have resulted in small, fragmented wild populations establishing themselves in areas such as the
Large Herbivore Profile: Wild Horses
Native breeds of domesticated horses exhibit natural behaviours that shape ecosystems. They are commonly introduced to nature recovery initiatives as a proxy for the extinct Eurasian wild horse.
