England’s beavers are back, and they mean business!
Wild beavers are back in England after 400 years, and they’re already bringing entire ecosystems back to life.
Return of the beaver: back from extinction after 400 years
Beavers are native to the UK and we’re once widespread in England, Wales and Scotland. They became extinct in the 16th century, mainly due to hunting for their fur, meat and 'castoreum', a secretion used in perfumes, food and medicine. However, the beaver is known as a 'keystone species' because of its significant positive influence on its environment, and their reappearance in the Devonshire countryside is having an amazing impact on the entire local ecosystem.
Wild beavers hadn’t been seen in England for hundreds of years.
Then, in 2008, a colony of unknown origin appeared on the banks of the River Otter in the county of Devon after escaping from captivity (but from exactly where, nobody knows). Source: David R. White/DevonWildlifeTrust
2014: Baby Beavers
Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT) opposed their removal.
In 2015, a few were captured, tested for disease and released back into the river after receiving a clean bill of health.
Since then, they have been under observation as part of a trial run by the Devon Wildlife Trust, designed to demonstrate that beavers can have a positive impact on their natural environment and create benefits for the local community. Source: Mike Symes/DevonWildlifeTrust
Beaver business could help the wider ecosystem.
Researchers involved say the beavers’ activities during the past five years has helped manage water flow, raising the possibility that their dams could help reduce the risk of flooding further along river systems. The beavers’ handiwork has created new habitats for wildlife living around the river, including water voles, otters, and wading birds, according to the trust. It says their building is also giving plants more direct access to sunlight and encouraging the regrowth of native species such as willow.
Your average British beaver: Length: 70-100cm Tail: 30-40cm Weight: 18-30kg Average lifespan: 10-15 years —
Since 2011, the DWT has also been studying beavers in an enclosed project on private land. Since their introduction to the site, it says, the beavers have constructed 13 dams, holding up to 1 million litres of additional water within ponds on the site. During storm events, on average, peak flows were 30% lower leaving the site than entering.
Not everybody is convinced the beavers are good business
Some local farmers are less convinced, according to a January article by World Economic Forum. Britain’s National Farmers’ Union opposed the reintroduction of beavers to the River Otter over concerns about damage to farmland and the spread of disease. It suggested that the beavers’ legal status of “not ordinarily resident in Britain” be retained even after the trial.
Devon Wildlife Trust has established a “beaver hotline” to respond to any landowner concerns, and says preliminary findings from the trial have demonstrated the value of the beavers to wetland ecosystems and water management.
Since 2011, the trust has also been studying beavers in an enclosed project on private land. Since their introduction to the site, it says, the beavers have constructed 13 dams, holding up to 1 million litres of additional water within ponds on the site. During storm events, on average, peak flows were 30% lower leaving the site than entering.
The River Otter trial was due to end in March 2020, when the government will determine if a wider reintroduction of wild beavers to UK rivers is viable. No decision has announced at the time of writing.
See BBC Earth for more.
Source: WorldEconomicForum
Beavers born in Essex for the first time since the Middle Ages
A pair of eurasian beavers were brought to the Spains Hall Estate in Finchingfield last year as part of a project to reduce flood risk.
Source: YouTube/EveningStandard
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