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Our Wild Things columnist Eric Brown unveils a plan to bring back one of Britain’s long-lost furry mammals in an unlikely setting just a few miles from the heart of bustling London.
Nominations for the most unlikely wildlife sighting in London will probably stretch imaginations to near off-scale level.
A pine marten perhaps, an elephant trundling through Stepney streets, a Scottish wildcat, a herd of wildebeest sweeping majestically up Regent Street or Santa’s reindeer dashing over Buckingham Palace.
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The improbable cast named above would once have included white-tailed or sea eagles, whales, dolphins and salmon, all of which have been recorded in the London area.
They will soon be joined by another distinguished cast member. For some years Eurasian beavers have been tentatively reintroduced to Britain in pens in Scotland and Kent to assess whether they are suitable for release into appropriate wild habitat. One pair of unknown origin jumped the gun by setting up their own, unauthorised, free-ranging colony in Devon.
These places are quiet, rural locations but beavers in London? Surely not. They haven’t been seen in the capital for 400 years but now they will return within a few miles of Buck House, Parliament and Tower Bridge.
A pair of the tree-munching rodents will be released into a river enclosure at a north London country park. The pair are both two years old and unknown to each other but it is hoped they will breed. Enfield Council believes the beavers will assist water management at Forty Hall Farm, building dams to prevent flooding and restore habitat.
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Eurasian beavers (castor fiber) disappeared from this country around the 16th century, mainly because their fur was prized for constructing hats and warm clothing. A substance called castoreum could also be harvested from beavers for many restorative purposes and is still utilised in perfume-making.
They are such industrious creatures their name became adopted to describe any hard-working person as “beavering”. This industry is best seen at dawn or dusk when vegetarian beavers gnaw trees and collect branches to construct dams or improve underwater breeding lodges which may measure several metres.
Beavers may eventually be observed on a river near you, providing farmers and landowners can be convinced they bring benefits rather than threats, and licences are granted for their release into the wild.
Further reading: The Missing Lynx, the past and future of Britain’s missing mammals, by Ross Barnett. Published by Bloomsbury, price £10.99
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