'Most of Gorongosa's large animals had died': How an African paradise for nature recovered from the ravages of war

For millennia, grey wolves prowled North America, living in harmony with the natural world around them. But as the human population grew across the continent, farmers and ranchers, fearing these clever hunters would prey on their livestock, hunted and killed these majestic Animals in their thousands. In 1926, a shot rang out over Yellowstone Park, and with it the last of the native grey wolves, who once roamed this spectacular wilderness, was dead.

The consequences of these actions spread much further than anyone had imagined, with elk, no longer fearing a natural predator, overrunning the landscape and leaving it barren, while emboldened coyotes fed on the smaller Animals that would once have sustained other predators.  

But Yellowstone today is different. It has at least eight packs of wolves that run freely across the park, all thanks to the rewilding efforts to bring them back to where they once lived, and restore a natural order to the environment.

This remarkable tale is one of 20 beautifully illustrated stories that are perfect for young children in the new book "Rewild the World at Bedtime" by Emily Hawkins and illustrator Ella Beech, in which we discover how humans have worked with nature to bring Animals back to the lands where they once lived. 

In this excerpt, we learn how the war that engulfed the nation of Mozambique decimated the wildlife of the Gorongosa National Park, and the remarkable efforts to bring elephants and other African fauna back to this beautiful landscape. 

As the red sun drops toward the horizon, a herd of elephants gather by a lake, their reflections mirrored in the calm water. On the far side of the pool, a jeep approaches across the dusty savannah. The driver is a young woman called Dominique: a scientist whose job is to learn about and protect these majestic beasts. She switches off the engine and reaches for her binoculars. 

Dominique watches as the leader of the herd flaps her ears, raises her trunk, and lets out a bellow of alarm. This wise mother elephant is protective of her family, and is wary of people. She has a long memory. She remembers a time not so many years ago when this place, Gorongosa, was a battleground.