400 Years Later, These Beavers Are Back!

Four beavers were released in a small lake in a nature reserve in Dorset, England, for the first time in four centuries, giving hope to conservationists who have been advocating for the beaver’s return for decades.

“I’ve worked as an ecologist for 40 years, and this is the most optimistic time in my career without a doubt,” exclaims David Brown, nature director at National Trust’s Purbeck Heath nature reserve. “We are visibly, measurably recovering nature and that is so exciting, it is a real buzz. That hope is so precious.”

The Beaver Trust was entrusted with moving the four beavers from the River Tay in Scotland down to Dorset in England. They are the first four legally released in England; about 500 live in the wild. They were taken to Little Sea, a 33-hectare lake identified as the perfect habitat for the creatures to roam free. A total of 25 will be released in the wild in the coming years. Beavers were hunted for their fur, meat, and scent oil, and they were extinct in Britain for 400 years until 20 years ago. The species’ presence allows other creatures like birds, fish, and invertebrates to thrive because they create complex wetland habitats by digging channels and pools. The dams they build filter pollution, help to clean up rivers, prevent flooding, and drought. Beavers could soon be released in Exmoor, Wallington, and Northumberland.