Gnaw Way! Beavers are Back in England After 400 Years 

The Eurasian Beaver has been absent in England for centuries after becoming extinct at the hands of hunters. On the 10^th of February, the National Trust received a license to release beavers into the wild as part of their beaver project in Dorset. This was then backed up on the 28^th February when the government announced their commitment to helping beavers be reintroduced to the wild.  

Successful reintroductions happened in Scotland several years ago, where they now have a wild beaver population over 1,500. These statistics show that similar reintroduction schemes in England could also be successful and beavers can live in the environment they used to before being hunted. 

Beavers are very important ecosystem engineers, meaning that they not only create a suitable habitat for themselves, but they also create habitats for other organisms to live in. This engineering can help to restore rivers and wetlands which previously were not suitable for very many species to live in. On top of this, beavers create dams which slows the flow of rivers and can reduce flooding in certain areas.  

Despite a reintroduction only just happening, there have been some wild beavers present in England for over a decade. It is likely that these beavers escaped from enclosures or were illegally released. These beavers reside in Devon, in the River Otter catchment, and since being noticed they have been closely monitored. 

Peter Burgess of the Devon Wildlife Trust explained how these beavers created wetlands that now contain species such as kingfishers and great white egrets. As well as this, dragonfly, frog and toad numbers have increased drastically. Despite these positive ecological improvements, there are some concerns about expanding the beaver population. The beavers in the River Otter have also caused farmland and some properties to be flooded, due to their dams. 

Despite these negatives, with close monitoring, the huge positives for the environment that come from beavers make their reintroduction very important. On the 5^th March 2025, the first pair of beavers were released to live in the wild in Purbeck, Dorset. For the first time since the 16^th century, these beavers will legally be allowed to roam freely with no restrictions.