Beavers are returning to London – and they might protect a local train station from flooding

Beavers will return to London for the first time in 400 years – and they could stop flooding at a local train station.

Widely hunted for their fur and meat, beavers went extinct in England during the 16th century.

But after a decade of successful breeding programs, the semi-aquatic mammal is back. Now, they are being reintroduced to London.

At least one male and one female Eurasian beaver will be released in Ealing’s Paradise Fields, an eight-hectare site of woodland and wetlands.

• Beavers are now a protected species in England 400 years after they were hunted to extinction
• How were these seven animals successfully reintroduced to the wild?

Why are beavers being reintroduced to London?

Beavers can be ‘ecosystem engineers’ generating a habitat for dozens of other species. The wood they bring into water provides food and shelter for insects, who in turn attract fish and birds. Their dams slow water, creating wetlands and marshy meadows.

The reintroduction will greatly benefit the local environment, said Dr Sean McCormack, chair and founder of Ealing Wildlife Group.

“Many people assume beavers to be a wilderness species. In fact, we’ve just forgotten how closely we used to live alongside them.”

“And we’ve forgotten the rich tapestry of life they can bring as engineers of healthy ecosystems.”

Beavers act as ‘ecosystem engineers’ by building dams on rivers.Canva

How can beavers help to prevent flooding?

The diligent rodents could also help protect local infrastructure.

Paradise Fields often floods, causing damage to local Greenford Tube station. But beavers could prevent this – not only do they build dams, but they dig out new channels while exploring. This network of ponds can hold water, preventing it from rushing out of park areas.

Findings from the River Otter Beaver Trial in Devon show that the beavers reduced flood flows by up to 60 per cent.

“Rewilding is a crucial tool in the toolbox for tackling the nature and climate emergencies,” says Professor Alastair Driver, Director of conservation charity Rewilding Britain

“Beavers can do much of that rewilding completely free of charge in river and wetland environments.”

• Wolves, bears and bison: 50 species make ‘spectacular’ comeback in Europe
• Wild baby bison born in the UK for first time in thousands of years after surprise pregnancy

Are beavers protected in England?

There are now hundreds of beavers in the UK. The government has passed legislation protecting them

As of October 2022, it is illegal to deliberately capture, injure, kill or otherwise disturb the creatures.

Other European countries could provide a glimpse into Britain’s beaver future.

Just a century after Eurasian beavers were reintroduced in Sweden, they now number over 150,000. Norway and Germany both reintroduced them in the 1960s, and they now have populations of around 80,000 and 40,000 respectively.

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