Wolves, bears and other large carnivores have been making a comeback in Europe acording to a new study published in Science.

Despite the fact that Europe has half the land mass and double the population density of the United States the populations of wolves is nearly double. Especially in recent years populations have begun to recover.

Guillaume Chapron, a professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences' Grimsö Wildlife Research Station and author of the study, said strong regulation, cross border breeding, and human attitude to give place to wildlife in society have helped the animals to experience the resurgence.

Chapron said, "We don't have unspoiled, untouched areas. But what is interesting is, that does not mean we do not have carnivores. Au contraire; we have many carnivores".

The researchers of the study have gathered data from all over Europe, excluding areas of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, studying populations of  Eurasian lynx, brown bears, gray wolves and wolverines.

The researchers reported that with the exception of Denmark, Luxembourg, Belgium and Netherlands, every nation of Europe that was included in the study has a permanent and reproducing population of minimum one of the four large carnivores.

Europe has about 17,000 brown bears in 10 different populations that spread across 22 nations. The continent is home of about 9,000 lynx in 11 populations in 23 different countries. About 28 countries of the region have more than 12,000 wolves that are thriving.

Wolverines can live only in the cold climates of Scandinavia, therefore Finland, Sweden and Norway are the only countries in the study that host all four of Europe's major large carnivore species. There are two populations of wolverines in Europe, with an estimated total of 1,250 individuals.

Chapron, believes the EU Habitats Directive adopted in 1992 was absolutely crucial to this recovery. Looking to the future, there are obviously plenty of challenges. "There is no conflict between predators and people. There is conflict between people about predators," says Chapron. "When they come back, they don't come back alone they come back with a set of questions."

But the take-home message - one that may be relevant to conservationists on other continents - is there is no reason why humans and large carnivores can't occupy the same landscape. "We have managed."

"Maybe the wolf is your black bear," Chapron said, explaining European attitudes toward the animal. In the United States, he said, wolves are seen as animals that can't coexist with humans, whereas black bears are generally tolerated in residential areas, with locals making accommodations such as bear-proof trash cans.

"There is a need to keep the conflict at a low intensity," Chapron said.

"We have found a recipe that works," he said.

Recently the first wolf seen in California since 1924 sparked a public debate about carnivores. "If people from California decide to have wolves," he said, "then the European model clearly shows that you can have plenty of wolves in California."