Return of the Beaver: The Welsh Beaver Project

· by · in Bioscience, BSX 3141. ·

The European Beaver Castor fiber is a genetically distinct relative of the North American Beaver and has been so for an estimated 5 million years according to Adrian Lloyd Jones of the Welsh Beaver Project. After an initial introduction to the species filled with hot facts such as; the Beaver is the 2nd largest rodent in the world (only beaten by the Capybara of the Amazon), and for me the key fact of the entire presentation that, 98% of Beaver activity occurs within 20m of the water’s edge. However more on the significance of this to my thinking later.

highlighting the need to have people prepared and trained to manage Beavers

After this Adrian then tackled headlong why there are no Beavers in the UK , and secondly why there should be! There are none due to many of the reasons species are currently going extinct all over the world, hunting and habitat loss. Even as far back as 1188 Gerald Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales) comments on the scarcity of the Beaver. Due to Beavers being classified as fish (they swim in water) by the church, they were able to be eaten through lent, and perhaps more significantly hunting for castoreum. Castoreum is a secretion made by beavers into the castor sacs and is used along with urine by beavers to mark their territory.However it was considered a powerful panacea (cure all) much the way Rhino horn is considered by those in the far east to cure a myriad of diseases nowadays leading to a resurgence in poaching  ( See here: http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2013/12/20/no-break-in-rhino-wars-for-holidays). A stark warning perhaps as the Beaver is no more in the UK, is this what is destined for the Rhino?

However it is not all doom and gloom as Adrian pointed out Article 22 in the Habitats directive set out by the EU to…

 “study the desirability of re-introducing species in Annex IV that are native to their territory where this might contribute to their conservation, provided that an investigation, has established that such re-introduction contributes effectively to re-establishing these species at a favourable conservation status and that it takes place only after proper consultation of the public concerned;”.

…this is all rather a mouthful but Adrian guided us through it better than I can, and for which I apologise. However the key points in the Beavers favour are that the beaver has been widely shown to be a keystone species or ecosystem engineer (Jones, et.al.,1994, Naiman, et.al.,1986., Mèuller-Schwarze 2003.,). In the UK also the Beaver would be creating a habitat that has been missing for many 100’s of years. Some may argue that we don’t need Beavers back; we are fine as we are. To them I would say; how would you know? This habitat has been missing for so long no one can see the benefits or the disadvantages we are living with. But I would suggest our environments would most likely have a much higher tolerance to the flood events we have been seeing over the past decade.

Image from Thea Eldred Collection

Image from Thea Eldred Collection

So what is the harm in finding out? I caution first though, it must be rigorous and on a small scale, before we have everyone running down to the nearest pet store to buy and release a Beaver! However to bring in my point from earlier, 98% of Beaver activity occurs within 20m of the water’s edge, this means that surely with adequate management the impacts of the Beaver can be easily monitored and if needed mitigation can take place. Adrian showed a number of examples from Bavaria where both Foresters and Farmers lived with Beavers on their lands and if the Beavers activity was perceived to be problematic, conservation organisations would come in to rectify the situation. With examples of pre-emptive felling of trees near power lines, through pipes on dams to alleviate flooding of cropland, or the most extreme, capture and release of Beavers into new habitats in more suitable locations.

98% of Beaver activity occurs within 20m of the water’s edge

So with such adaptable and enigmatic creatures on the brink of reintroduction I would be delighted to hear what other people have to think and to repeat the words of Adrian Lloyd Jones, if the Beaver is to be reintroduced then it highlights the need to have people prepared and trained to manage it.

Thank you for reading so far in 2013 & I wish you the best possible start to 2014 and hope to have you as a reader again.

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6 responses to “Return of the Beaver: The Welsh Beaver Project”

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  2. It’s great to see there’s enthusiasm to reintroduce beavers, especially with the help of the EU aiding to reintroduce as many native species as possible. The point of environments having a higher tolerance to flood events is topical at the moment. The current adverse weather is causing serious damage not just on coastal areas but with rivers and streams overflowing too. It would be hugely beneficial to have the beavers back to aid with flood control – their dams release the extra stored water from heavy rain gradually. This can help reduce flood damage to both surrounding wildlife and human structures down river.

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  4. Just by reading the post you can tell that you are enthusiastic and passionate about the reintroduction of beavers. I like the fact that you reference within the text and put them at the end so people can read more on the topic. I really enjoyed the flow of your post and the quotes. Keep it up.

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  6. Informative and fair. It seems crucial to work with farmers and the agricultural industry as it is now. Many farmers in UK have responded well to RSPB projects to support bird diversity.

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