rewilding

1. (ecology) The act of restoring a natural area to its former wild state, especially by repopulating it with animals that have been extirpated.Examples: "For rewilding North America, we need to find or restore some of the cogs and wheels we've already tossed into the dust bin."; "The beaver was hunted to extinction in Britain more than three centuries ago, but is today the rewilding movement’s pin-up."; "There's a colossal amount of tree planting, rewilding and other work going on to ensure that HS2 adds more to the environment than it takes away."uncountableusually