How would the removal of humans change the wildlife?

Suppose all the humans in Britain suddenly disappeared. This gives the animals -- wild, domesticated and feral, free roam. What would the wildlife look like 300 years later? The starting conditions are as follows. . . .

Environment: Temperate climate -- plentiful rain and occasional snow. Temperature between 0-25 C$^\circ$ depending on the season. The environment consists of farmland, patches of forestry, (abandoned) cities and towns, patches of maintained woodland (national parks), and some unmanaged wilderness (think the moors of Scotland).

Herbivores: Large numbers of domestic cows, pigs, sheep, chickens and horses. Largest wild herbivore is the red deer. Various smaller breeds of deer exist. Various small omnivores, including mice, rats and hedgehogs.

Carnivores: Large wild predators are conspicuously absent. Largest potential predator is some sort of large dog. Smaller predators include badgers, foxes, hawks, stoats, owls, herons and house cats.

So how is the biosphere thrown out of wack over the next few centuries?

posted almost 8 years ago

Daron‭

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