Productive agriculture allows large mammals to thrive in Europe

Populations of many large mammals in Europe have recovered dramatically over the past few decades, according to this piece from Our World in Data. Between 1960 and 2013, numbers of Eurasian beavers have increased by 14,000%; European bison by 3000%; wild boar by 350%; and grey wolf by 300%; many other mammals have also made rebounds. The piece attributes the gains to restrictions on hunting; breeding and reintroduction programmes; and to decreasing farmland extent in Europe, enabled by high agricultural productivity.