Europeans seem to have figured out how to coexist with carnivores in their midst. So suggests a new study published on Thursday in Science Magazine. Despite a much more dense human population on half the land mass of the lower 48 United States, Europe’s carnivore populations are expanding.

The conservation success has been attributed to cooperation among European nations, tight regulations, and a positive public consensus on the importance of wildlife coexisting with humanity. The European attitude is that room can be made for large carnivores as opposed to driving them out of habitat to extinction.

Leader of the study Guillaume Chapron, professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences’ Grimso Wildlife Research Station said, “”We don’t have unspoiled, untouched areas.”

“But what is interesting is, that does not mean we do not have carnivores,” explained Chapron in an interview. “Au contraire; we have many carnivores.”

Chapron and colleagues reported that the numbers for several predator species are looking good. Brown bears, Eurasian Lynx, wolverines, and gray wolves are all rebounding after suffering in the past. Approximately 17,000 brown bears comprise 10 distinct populations across 22 countries; 9,000 lynx exist in 11 populations over 23 countries; over 12,000 wolves in 10 populations cover 28 countries.

The cooler regions of Scandinavia are home to an estimated 1,250 wolverines as well as all of the other three large carnivores. Only Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg lack at least one permanent, reproducing population of at least one of the four predators.