It's Always More Complicated

Polar bears are back in Britain, though, to be moderately reassuring, this is in wildlife parks and zoos. I still wonder a bit, given that polar bears, unlike European bison, have never, or not for many aeons, been native to this part of the world (though even the bison had been not around for several thousand years) even before getting on to 'world's largest land carnivore' aspect.

What are native to this land, and under threat, are a more modest and shy species: Hedgehogs ‘near threatened’ on red list after 30% decline over past decade:

There is still a chance to halt the decline of the western European hedgehog, and we must aim to prevent any further worsening of status.” The Mammal Society is calling for people to look after hedgehogs by gardening in a wildlife-friendly way. This includes leaving small gaps in fences to allow hedgehog movement between gardens, not using pesticides and creating shelter with log piles or hedgehog houses. One in four UK mammal species are threatened with extinction, and many others are in decline.

TIL that there are WOMBATTS in the UK - there is a Southern Hairy Nosed at Longleat Safari Park and a pair of what appear to be Common (Oy! Ooo are you callin' common?) Wombats at Hamerton Zoo Park in Cambridgeshire.