England’s only family of beavers has been released back into their wild river home after being given a clean bill of health following a month in captivity undergoing a series of checks. The four adults and one juvenile had been temporarily rounded up from the River Otter in Devon so that they could be tested for a number of diseases and conditions such as bovine TB and parasites. DNA tests were also carried out to confirm the beavers are indigenous to the UK and not North American imports. Thought to have been extinct in England, the beavers were first spotted in 2013.
The initial joy of wildlife experts and the local community soon turned to dismay however when Defra, the government environment department, decided they should be rounded up to prevent the spread of disease. A lively debate between the Government and experts on whether or not the beavers and their young should be allowed to remain in the wild, be rehomed in captivity, or even culled followed. A compromise was eventually struck whereby if the beavers were found to be disease free they could go back to their homes and monitored for a five year period to study the effects they have on the local environment and wildlife. For beavers certainly leave their mark on the landscape. They are best known for building dams to create ponds upon which they build their lodges to protect themselves from predators. The dams can vary in size from just a few feet to over 300 ft wide. They are nocturnal herbivores and can reach 3 ft in length and weigh up to 70lbs.
The expert dam builders are believed to be England’s first wild beavers for 800 years after they were hunted to extinction in the Middle Ages both for fur and for castoreum – a secretion of its scent gland for medicinal properties. A total of nine are now believed to be living and successfully breeding on the River Otter. It’s not known how these beavers ended up in Devon. There are captive breeding programmes elsewhere in the county but none are missing any animals. Other possible explanations include a great escape from a private collection or a deliberate release organised by wildlife campaigners. Perhaps they and previous generations were just living peacefully on the river until they were rumbled. Or perhaps there are still many beavers living in the wild yet to be spotted…
