How our charitable Coexistence Adventures are helping European wildlife

1. Seeing wildlife in Europe helps connect people to nature

If you grew up with David Attenborough documentaries, you may have come away with an appreciation for the beauty of iconic nature like lions, tigers, orangutans, but maybe also a sense that truly iconic nature exists only in the far corners of  our planet – a transcontinental flight away.

But to the contrary, there are wild landscapes in Europe where important apex predators still exist, and where there are actually growing populations of iconic species like bears, wolves, lynx, eagles, vultures, and more. The below clip of a pack of six wolves was taken in Abruzzo by a guest of our Winter Wolf Coexistence Adventure. This adventure helped to raise funds and awareness for coexistence with Italian wolf foundation, Io Non Ho Paura Del Lupo. This magical experience was also observed by a 10-year old guest, who now wants to pursue a career in ecology and conservation.

3. How proceeds from our trips drive practical coexistence measures 

The Coexistence Fund: I Am Not Afraid of the Wolf

More than £50,000 has been generated so far for human-wolf coexistence in Italy across the first two years of running Coexistence Adventures to Abruzzo

Coexistence between humans and wildlife is not an easy or fixed state to achieve. Between 2019 and 2023, 1,639 wolves were found dead in Italy, with numbers increasing year on year. Around 70% of recorded deaths were linked directly or indirectly to human activity. Most recently, 18 wolves were found poisoned in the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park. These deaths highlight a growing need to rollout proven, practical solutions for coexistence, such as supporting shepherds to keep traditional Abruzzese Shepherd Dogs. When livestock owners are properly empowered to live alongside wolves and children are empowered to properly understand ecology through education, we can reduce the social tension that can often precipitate in violent acts of retaliation, helping wolves and humans to live alongside one another.

Our recent Winter Wolf Adventures focused on wolves in Italy, providing vital funding to Io Non Ho Paura Del Lupo’s Coexistence Fund, a programme working directly with small herd livestock farmers across the country.

The Coexistence Fund is a small but valuable tool for coexistence. It supplies materials, products and services that help improve systems for preventing predator attacks in key large carnivore ranges across Italy. The initiative is open to all livestock keepers, both professional and non-professional, with particular attention to smaller operations that are often excluded from institutional support schemes because their activity is sometimes considered hobby farming.

Operating across 15 provinces, Io Non Ho Paura Del Lupo’s Coexistence Fund supports farmers in adopting practical measures to reduce conflict with wolves. In 2024 and 2025 21 farmers have received direct support, alongside wider investment in outreach, education, monitoring, and field research. This included the provision of over 5,000 kilograms of food for livestock guardian dogs, a key tool in preventing predation, as well as the distribution of 782 protection signs. In 2026, the programme expanded further. Over the year, 11.8 tonnes of food for livestock guardian dogs were distributed, supporting 33 farms that rely on these animals every day as their first line of defence against predation. At the same time, 18 livestock farmers received prevention equipment to improve the protection of their operations, including 9 energisers, nearly 10km of electric fencing and wire, rechargeable batteries, solar panels and other essential tools for pasture management. 2026 also saw the addition of a free online training course for livestock farmers. Covering wolf ecology, prevention tools, and the management of livestock guardian dogs, the course combines scientific knowledge with practical experience, supporting informed and realistic decision making in rural contexts.

This work, led by Io Non Ho Paura Del Lupo, reflects a broader understanding that coexistence depends on trust, communication, and long term engagement. Their most recent annual report highlights a year of continued growth and expanding impact.

As wolf populations recover across Europe, new challenges continue to emerge. Recent changes to their protection status underline the need for solutions grounded in evidence rather than short term responses. Initiatives such as the Coexistence Fund demonstrate what this looks like in practice.

Below: Images showing how funds from our Coexistence Adventures (Winter Wolf Adventure and Bear & Wolf Adventure) are being utilised to support conflict reduction efforts and children’s education. 

4. How proceeds from our Coexistence Adventure help to protect forests and ecosystems

The effort to create a new National Park in Romania

More than £25,000 was raised on our May 2026 Coexistence Adventure for to help protect wildlife and forests in the Carpathians 

Our recent Romanian Carpathians Coexistence Adventure generated awareness and funds to support Romania’s most ambitious conservation project – the efforts to create a new National Park in the Făgăraș Mountains. Over a 7-night programme (read our Travel Supervisor’s blog here), guests delighted in the old-growth forests, understanding exactly how this NGO is working with local communities to help create a ‘green economy’ based around the conservation of nature.

Since its establishment, the Foundation has pursued a science-based, long-term conservation approach that combines land protection, habitat restoration, species recovery, and community engagement. To date, it has secured protection for approximately 28,000 hectares of forests and alpine meadows, including more than 8,000 hectares under the highest levels of legal protection. Large-scale ecological restoration has also been a core priority, with over 4.5 million native trees planted on land previously degraded by industrial logging.

The Foundation has played a pioneering role in rewilding the Southern Carpathians, successfully reintroducing more than 80 European bison and 62 beavers, species that had disappeared from the region for over a century. Through a dedicated ranger network and conservation teams managing over 75,000 hectares, the organisation works to prevent illegal logging, monitor wildlife, and build a resilient, connected landscape for future generations.

Our May 17–24th 2026 Coexistence Adventure raised more than £25,000 towards this continued progress – an achievement that pushed the total funding raised through Coexistence Adventures beyond £100,000 in the first 2 years of running our trips.