In a landmark event for nature conservation, the National Trust has legally released the first two pairs of Eurasian beavers to live in the wild in Purbeck, Dorset.
This historic moment follows a groundbreaking policy announcement by Defra and Natural England, paving the way for wild beaver releases.
For the first time since the 16th Century, these extraordinary creatures will be able to legally roam freely across Purbeck, an area peppered with lakes and water courses, un-restricted by fenced enclosures.
Hunted to extinction on mainland Britain for their fur, meat and scent glands, beavers are now set to play a crucial role in ecosystem restoration.
Beavers are nature’s engineers, creating wetland habitats that support countless other species. Their instinctive dam-building helps tackle the impacts of climate change by creating wetlands that retain water during floods and droughts, benefiting both nature and people. These natural dams also filter water, improving its quality downstream.
The beavers will spend the coming weeks settling into their new home at Little Sea, a 33-hectare (82 acre) lake on England’s first Super National Nature Reserve.
Relocated from the River Tay catchment in Scotland, by experts at the Beaver Trust, this release is the culmination of years of preparation by the National Trust team and the local community.
Gen Crisford, Beaver Project Officer at Purbeck at the National Trust, shared her delight: “As a true believer in beavers, today is incredibly exciting, a real watershed moment in the history of the species in England.
“We have worked closely with Natural England for the past seven years to develop an approach for a licensed release of beavers into the Purbeck landscape.
“Our chosen site at Little Sea is highly suitable for these special creatures due to it being an expansive body of fresh water surrounded by dense willow woodland which will provide the beavers with plenty of food.
“As the lake is already deep enough, they won’t need to build dams initially, but by creating glades within the willow woodland, new areas of open wetlands will form to benefit many of the reserve’s rare species including water voles, keeled skimmer dragonflies and tiny ‘bladderwort’ carnivorous plants.
“Little Sea is at the heart of the 3,400 ha Purbeck Heaths Super National Nature Reserve making it an ideal landscape for the beavers to spread so that people can learn to co-exist with the mammals again.”
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