rewild

[ ree-wahyld ]

verb (used with object)

1. to introduce (animals or plants) to their original habitat or to a habitat similar to their natural one:

   proposals to rewild elephants to the American plains.

2. to return (land) to a more natural state:

   rewilding an unpopulated island for use as an animal preserve.

verb (used without object)

1. to introduce living organisms to a habitat.
2. to return land to a less developed state.

Word History and Origins

Origin of rewild¹

First recorded in 1980–85; re- + wild

Example Sentences

Solar panels have been installed on the pavilion roof and native trees were planted beyond the boundary rope field to better soak up excess water, with the grass wildflowers left to grow and rewild with reduced mowing and trimming.

From BBC

But some experts hope it will change its mind and allow a natural recovery—and perhaps even accelerate efforts to rewild parts of the lower Dnipro Basin.

From Science Magazine

Joanne, from Merthyr Tydfil, is also a trustee for charity Rewild Play which organises trips to relaxed events for children who are disabled or have additional learning needs.

From BBC

Thanks to efforts to reestablish and rewild the species, there are approximately 7,300 free-ranging European bison today.

From Science Daily

It has a whole chapter on the habit, recommending it as a way to “rewild” the hip joints of bodies that have been sitting in chairs too long.

From Slate

More About Rewild

What does rewild mean?

Rewild means to reintroduce a plant or animal to its original habitat or one similar to its natural habitat.

To rewild a plant or animal is to introduce a plant or animal species back to its natural habitat. Sometimes, if an animal has been in captivity for a long time or has been injured and then taken care of by humans, it will have to go through a training process in order to be rewilded—otherwise the animal won’t be able to take care of itself in the wild. 

In the case of plants, rewild usually refers to reintroducing a plant species to an area after it was removed for some reason, such as a natural disaster or human development.

To rewild also means to return land to a more natural state. That might mean planting vegetation that originally belonged in that habitat, taking care of it, and nurturing the land until it resembles the natural areas around it or that it is based on. 

Example: This sea turtle has already gone through most of the rewilding process and will be released for good in a few weeks.

Where does rewilding come from?

The first records of the term rewild come from around the 1980s. It combines the prefix re-, meaning “again,” and the term wild, meaning “not tamed or domesticated.”

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to rewild?

• rewilded (adjective, verb)
• rewilding (noun, verb)

What are some words that share a root or word element with rewild? 

• wild
• wild dog
• wilding

What are some words that often get used in discussing rewild?

• animal
• habitat
• introduce
• plant

How is rewild used in real life?

Rewild is usually used to describe returning plants or animals to their original habitat or returning land to its natural state.

Nearly half of all the food that's produced in the world each year gets wasted, mostly by farms and supermarkets. There's a big opportunity here. By ending food waste, we could in theory cut global emissions by 14%, and rewild 2.4 billion hectares of land.

— Jason Hickel (@jasonhickel) May 5, 2020

Culling of coyotes in Stanley Park? Consider the knock on effect by removing a species from its natural habitat. Look what happened when they wiped out the wolves in Yellowstone. They had to rewild them back to balance the ecosystem. #banthecull #coyotes #StanleyPark #Vancouver

— Bryan Adams (@bryanadams) September 5, 2021

New goal: earn millions as a celebrity biologist, then buy up swathes of degraded farmland in the UK and plant/rewild it for nature, using ecotourism to make it self-sustaining. Who's in?

— Dr Sally Le Page (@sallylepage) April 4, 2019

 

 

Try using rewild!

Is rewild used correctly in the following sentence?

“Sophie rescued a hurt rabbit, nursed it back to health, and then rewilded it to the woods it came from.”