Barra Best (Image: BBC NI)
Barra Best is back with a new three-part series of Barra’s Return Of The Wild, with the spotlight on how endangered animals across the UK and Europe could be making a return.
With experts warning that the natural world is in crisis and biodiversity is in shocking decline, Barra reveals how humans can change their behaviour in order to help the natural world spring back surprisingly quickly.
The series explores how a way forward that works for both humans and the natural world is possible.
In the first episode, we see the efforts being made to protect puffins and other sea birds from rats and ferrets on Rathlin Island, off the coast of Northern Ireland. Meanwhile beavers in Scotland are being re-homed so their return to the landscape is not at the expense of farmers and, in Spain, orcas are attacking boats – but there may be a simple solution for sailors.
Barra also investigates whether the Bavarian pine vole is extinct, or just incredibly rare.
The rest of the series takes us to the North Channel off the coast of Northern Ireland, where the elusive flapper skate is making a comeback after decades of over-fishing. In County Kerry, ospreys are being reintroduced from Norway after being hunted to extinction 150 years ago. In Norway, an invasive species – the racoon dog – is being pushed back humanely by conservationists who are tracking them down.
With wildfires a growing problem across Europe, Barra explores how in Ireland the wild goat is part of the solution. In the Netherlands, badgers have been coming into conflict with humans but new efforts are being made to give them the chance to live safely. And in Switzerland, two former wildlife television presenters are spearheading changes to urban planning to allow the soil to breathe and floodwaters to be reduced.
This series has been produced in collaboration with the European Broadcasting Union and 9 other broadcasters.
The new series airs on Friday, August 30 from 7:30pm - 8:00pm on BBC One Northern Ireland.