Four beaver families have arrived in the UK as part of a plan to reintroduce them to Scotland for the first time in more than 400 years. The four families, each consisting of one adult pair and between one to three youngsters or kits, were captured in Norway in September.
They will spend six months in quarantine before being released on a trial basis in Knapdale, Argyll, in spring 2009. The trial is being carried out by the Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.
Beavers are native to Britain but were hunted to extinction over 400 years ago.
When the beavers are released, the project partners and Forestry Commission Scotland will continue to oversee the project. Scottish Natural Heritage will conduct scientific monitoring to assess the environmental impact of the beavers.
Simon Jones, from the Scottish Beaver Trial, said “Beavers hold the potential to create new wetland habitats which in turn increases the appeal to other native species. We are excited to get the trial underway and really see what benefits beavers can bring to Scotland.”
The scheme to reintroduce the beavers has not been without controversy, however. The Association of Salmon Fishery Boards has called the project “recklessly irresponsible” and asked ministers to block further releases until the impact on fish stocks can be assessed.
More information
You can find details about the reintroduction of beavers in Scotland on the Scottish Beaver Trial website. And you’ll find more information about Scottish wildlife on the Scottish Wildlife Trust website.
5 comments… read them below or add yours now
This is great news. Beavers are incredible creatures and play an important role in creating and maintaining wetlands for other species. The idea that they could damage salmon stocks is outrageous – the fisheries are more concerned with damage to their profits!
Careful. Note what introduction of beavers did in Tierra del Fuego.
Good luck, as humans we are good at wiping out animal species but aren’t so good at reintroducing them. I suspect after 400 years the beavers won’t be too good at it either.
@Niamh: Thanks for commenting. As you say, I think “the fisheries are more concerned with damage to their profits”, although I suspect any damage will be minimal.
@Jakester: Welcome to Green Pepper! Can you expand on your point? What happened at Tierra del Fuego?
@Tess: Also, welcome to Green Pepper and thanks for sharing your views. I guess the beavers will get plenty of help to re-establish themselves.
for more on beavers in Tierra del Fuego, see (for example)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jul/20/wildlife.conservation
and
http://www.ieb-chile.cl/news/pdf/Nature_190608_BeaversMustDie.pdf
The European beaver may have been native to Scotland, but today none of its predators remain – a potentially dangerous situation. Having seen what the Canadian beaver can do in Tierra del Fuego, I think this has the potential for creating an ecological disaster and requires very careful monitoring and tough measures to control population numbers, if these animals adapt as well as most people seem to expect.