Beavers are officially back! Join Rosy Fox as she explores the enchanting tale of the elusive rodents rewilding a Devonshire river.

Dotted along the banks of River Otter lay the discarded offcuts of felled trees and logs stripped of their outer layer; stumps emerged from the ground to form a Mexican wave, with the nibs fashioned into a meticulous spike. The area was reminiscent of that from a crime scene; a spectacular part of the natural world had been ransacked and thrust into disarray. But this wasn’t the work of a deranged villain; this was, in fact, the organised chaos of nature’s master industrialist: the Eurasian beaver.

With a robust reputation as Europe’s largest rodent, beavers once dominated British rivers and streams until the 16th century. Cruel persecution from humans regrettably resulted in beavers being hunted to extinction for their castoreum (a secretion produced by the sweat gland extracted for medicine), and these semi-aquatic engineers have since remained the charismatic protagonist of a whimsical woodland tale existing far beyond the realms of the United Kingdom.

Yet, their solemn story has a happy ending. In 2008, whispers of wild beaver sightings in Devon danced across the wind, igniting hope in naturalists and conservationists alike. Rumours became an exhilarating reality in 2014 when a family of two adults and one kit was captured on camera along the banks of the River Otter. While their origin is unknown, this sighting has earned itself a place in the conservation history books as the first verified account of wild beavers breeding in the UK for over 400 years.

Initially, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) believed the new family setting up home in Devon harboured deadly diseases which could prove detrimental to British wildlife and were intent on removing the beavers from English soil. However, Devon Wildlife Trust swiftly applied for a licence from Natural England to conduct a five-year trial in partnership with Exeter University to observe the effects of beavers on the river, stating that beaver dams “improve a river’s water quality and flow, as well as creating mosaics of habitat for a range of wildlife”. And this couldn’t have come at a better time - according to The Rivers Trust, in 2019 only a mere 14% of rivers in England were deemed to be in good ecological health in accordance with the Water Framework Directive. Dubbed a “keystone species”, beavers are just the tonic our deteriorating freshwater habitats need to nurse them back to health.

The research subsequently found that the effects Eurasian beavers have on their surrounding ecosystem result in a profound, mutualistic relationship with a host of other important species and has been accumulating significant interest from supporters of ‘rewilding’. These expert aquatic builders naturally sustain wildlife by remodelling the landscape through the coppicing of trees and assembling dams, maintaining a staggered river flow. As the dams eventually rot and break down, the high pressure of the contained water flushes away the sediment build-up which would ordinarily have polluted the river. The skillfully engineered dams construct a medley of ponds and waterways, while their distinctive nibbling of trees promotes tree regeneration, allowing species such as otters, toads, birds, frogs and countless insects to thrive in a biodiverse habitat. Scientists who have researched the family of beavers since 2015 believed the “quantifiable costs and benefits of beaver reintroduction demonstrates that the ecosystem services and social benefits accrued are greater than the financial costs incurred”.

Since the trial’s launch in 2015, the population of wild beavers has increased from two breeding pairs to roughly eight pairs currently inhabiting the banks of River Otter. Expert scientists from Exeter University reveal that this “clearly demonstrates the River Otter environment will be able to sustain a healthy, expanding, beaver population”.

The reintroduction of extinct wild beavers endemic to UK waters is undeniably one of the greatest conservation success stories of the 21st century. In the words of Devon Wildlife Trust, the government finally permitting beavers to legally reside in England “means that the beaver population, which lives on the River Otter and is estimated to consist of up to 15 family groups, now has a secure future”.

You can support the project, and/or adopt a beaver through the Devon Wildlife Trust website.

Why Britain Needs Beavers: The Rodents Rewilding Our Rivers

Beavers are officially back! Join Rosy Fox as she explores the enchanting tale of the elusive rodents rewilding a Devonshire river.