Urban areas are thriving with more wildlife than ‘exploited and degraded’ national parks, expert claims – The Sun

URBAN areas have more wildlife than some national parks, an expert claims.

Open spaces, docklands and industrial estates in our cities can burst with life as they are left alone, according to TV nature producer and author Benedict Macdonald.

They were found to have thriving populations of threatened bird species.

These include lapwing and lesser spotted woodpeckers plus adaptable predators, such as peregrine falcons and otters.

But Benedict says National Parks such as the Peak District, Snowdonia and Exmoor are heavily “exploited and degraded”.

Benedict, who worked on Sir David Attenborough’s Our Planet series, spent years on research for his book Rebirding.

He branded National Parks a disgrace, saying: “You should expect a deafening diversity of natural life to greet you.

"Instead, there’s little more than silence.

“If you expect to see animals thriving, you will be sorely disappointed.”

He says burning moorland to increase grouse populations destroys vital groundcover for wildlife.

But Benedict, 32, said insect abundance and diversity in London was most surprising, while it was also home to wildflowers plus threatened voles and hedgehogs.

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