Derek Gow

'''Derek Gow''' (born 29 June 1965) is a UK-based reintroduction expert, farmer and author<ref>{{Cite web|date=11 September 2020|title=An interview with Derek Gow: Bringing Back the Beaver|url=https://www.nhbs.com/blog/an-interview-with-derek-gow-bringing-back-the-beaver|access-date=2021-10-28|website=www.nhbs.com|language=en}}</ref> known for his work with watervoles, white storks, wildcats,<ref>{{Cite web|date=4 September 2020|title='It's going to be our way now': the guerrilla rewilder shaking up British farming|url=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/04/its-going-to-be-our-way-now-the-guerrilla-rewilder-shaking-up-british-farming-aoe|access-date=2021-10-27|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref> and Eurasian beavers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bringing Back the Beaver - Chelsea Green Publishing |url=https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/bringing-back-the-beaver-pb/ |access-date=2023-12-27 |language=en-US}}</ref>

He also imported the first Heck cattle to the UK. However, after aggressive behaviour could harm or even kill handlers, a significant proportion of the herd was culled.<ref>{{Cite web|date=5 January 2015|title=Devon farmer forced to offload aggressive Nazi-bred 'super cows'|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/05/devon-farmer-forced-offload-nazi-bred-super-cows|access-date=2021-10-28|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=9 January 2015|title=British farmer forced to destroy herd of 'aggressive' Nazi-bred super|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/british-farmer-forced-to-turn-half-his-murderous-herd-of-nazi-cows-into-sausages-9958988.html|access-date=2021-10-28|website=The Independent|language=en}}</ref>

Born in Dundee, he left school when he was 17 and worked in agriculture for five years. Inspired by the writing of Gerald Durrell, he jumped at the chance to manage a European wildlife park in central Scotland in the late 1990s before moving on to develop two nature centres in England. Gow owns a 400 acre farm (Rewilding Coombeshead) in Lifton, Devon, which is home to captive breeding facilities for native flora and fauna, visitor accommodation and a working farm.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Derek Gow |url=https://chelseagreen.co.uk/cg-author/derek-gow/ |access-date=2023-12-27 |website=Chelsea Green UK |language=en-GB}}</ref> Much of the land is under the process of rewilding, like the Knepp Estate. The farm is home to many species, including Eurasian lynx, wild boar, beavers, white storks, black storks, common tree frogs, and harvest mice.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-06-05|title=Wildcats, storks and beavers: my stay on a Devon rewilding farm|url=http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2021/jun/05/my-stay-at-a-devon-rewilding-farm-wildlife-holiday|access-date=2021-10-28|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-02-03|title=Can Britain’s long lost tree frogs bounce back?|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/tree-frogs-rewilding-biodiversity-beavers-b1797072.html|access-date=2021-10-28|website=The Independent|language=en}}</ref>

== Books == * {{Cite book |last=Gow |first=Derek |title=Bringing Back the Beaver: The Story of One Man's Quest to Rewild Britain's Waterways |publisher=Chelsea Green Publishing UK |year=2022 |isbn=9781645021223}} * {{Cite book |last=Gow |first=Derek |title=Birds, Beasts and Bedlam: Turning My Farm Into an Ark For Lost Species. |publisher=Chelsea Green Publishing UK |year=2022 |isbn=9781645021339}} * {{Cite book |last=Gow |first=Derek |title=Hunt for the Shadow Wolf [US Edition]: The lost history of wolves in Britain and the myths and stories that surround them |publisher=Chelsea Green Publishing UK |year=2024 |isbn=9781915294463}}

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gow, Derek}} Category:Living people Category:Animal reintroduction Category:English biologists Category:21st-century British biologists Category:Conservation biologists Category:Rewilding advocates Category:Rewilding in the United Kingdom Category:1965 births