The term "wildlife" refers to living organisms which are not in any way artificial or domesticated and which exist in natural habitats. It more commonly conjures up images of animals {fauna) rather than plants (flora) although it includes both.

Historically, we have tended to seperate civilization from wildlife in various ways through differences in vocabulary, differing expectations in the legal, social, and moral sense. This separation has also been present in literature.

For much of human history, mankind has lived in close proximity with the natural world and its wildlife. With the growth of strong central government during the Tudor period and pacification of the kingdom, the castle designed primarily for defence gradually gave way to the stately home and the flowering of classical learning during the "Renaissance" brought about the formal garden where nature was "tamed" into a vision of beauty based on order to distinguish it, quite deliberately, from the "wild" chaos of nature.

Three basic ideas dominated human thinking on the natural world;-

	The ideal state was considered to be the benign original biblical Eden, carefully tended as the ideal habitat for mankind by no less than God himself, a paradise from which man was expelled into a chaotic and "hostile" wilderness for the sins of Adam and Eve.
	The whole universe was seen as having been created to a perfect design by God the creator and this universe was seen as heirachical with God at the apex of the heirarchy to the lowest strata of society.
	The creation of the universe by God and the relationship between man and the natural world, and animals in particular, was seen to be clearly set out in the biblical Book of Genesis . . . 26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. . . . whereby man was given a divinelike omnipotence over the other organisms of the natural world by its creator and the "dominion" was seen to be one of mastery rather than stewardship.

Even if everyday actions were not thought of in these terms, they certainly shaped the ethos of the Europeans' interaction with the natural world. The development of overseas colonies brought new "wildernesses" to be tamed and "savage" heathen to be saved from themselves.

Fashions changed and the wild world reappeared beside the great house as parkland, a picturesque tamed wilderness which reached its height under Capability Brown.

The industrial revolution changed Britain from a rural to an industrial society with a huge migration from the countryside into the mushrooming towns and cities. The advent of cheap mass transport and the bicycle allowed large numbers of people to leave the grime of the industrial towns briefly to seek relaxation and refreshment in the countryside and caused a greater awareness of the value of nature.

The middle of the 20th century saw a growing awareness of disappearing habitats and species and many more threatened. Perception of the natural world had turned from a hostile wilderness to be tamed to, possibly at its extreme, the concept of "Ghaia", a living planet considered as an organism itself on which mankind was dependent for life support.

In practical terms, great strides were made during the last three decades of the twentieth century throughout the country in terms of establishing nature reserves and the local re-introduction of species. Even many commercial companies have been convinced to to consider specific provisions for wildlife in their operations, if not entirely for ultruistic reasons, then certainly as a cost-effective way of enhancing their image.

Success in wildlife conservation has also brought its own problems. Conservation relies very much on public support, the same public which which wants to get close to nature and this brings pressures of numbers as at Hengistbury Head and the Studland peninsula in Dorset.

Various religions have often declared certain animals to be sacred.

In modern times concern for the environment has provoked activists to protest the exploitation of wildlife for human benefit or entertainment.

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