Glossary

Rewilding

Restoring natural processes and, often, missing species such as large predators, to a landscape so that it can run with little human management.

Also called: trophic rewilding, landscape restoration, wilding

Rewilding is a conservation approach that aims to let nature repair itself. It can include removing fences and dams, restoring wetlands and forests, protecting large core areas, linking habitats, and bringing back species that once lived there. The goal is a landscape where natural processes, such as grazing, predation and flooding, shape the habitat with less human control.

Cats are often part of the discussion because large predators have a strong effect on an ecosystem. Proposals include returning the Eurasian lynx to parts of Europe and the United Kingdom, supporting cougar recovery in the eastern United States, and keeping tiger and jaguar territories connected. Supporters point to benefits for tourism, biodiversity and the control of deer and other grazers.

Critics note that rewilding can raise conflict with farmers, who fear livestock losses, and that results vary. Any plan needs local support, funding, clear rules and tools such as compensation, which are covered under human-wildlife conflict. A reintroduction is one possible step, but rewilding is broader. Rewilding concerns wild animals, so the term does not mean releasing pet cats outdoors. Free-roaming domestic cats harm wildlife in many places, which is why rewilding projects usually ask that pet cats are kept away from release sites.

Last reviewed November 7, 2026

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Related terms

Reintroduction Releasing animals into part of their former range where the species has died out, to re-establish a wild population. Apex predator An animal at the top of its food chain that adults of the species hunt and that has no natural predators of its own. Wildlife corridor A strip of habitat or a crossing structure that links separate wild areas so animals can travel between them safely. Human-wildlife conflict Harm that people and wild animals cause each other, such as big cats killing livestock and herders killing cats in return. Captive breeding Breeding a threatened species under human care, in zoos or breeding centres, to keep a safe population and sometimes supply animals for release.