Wild beavers return to Scotland
The Scottish Beaver Trial officially started last week, with the last in a series of beavers released into the wild. Three beaver families have now been released at carefully selected sites in Knapdale Forest, Mid-Argyll – making them the first beavers to live in the wild in Scotland for over 400 years. Captured in Norway, the beavers been chosen because they are thought to be the closest type to those once found in the UK.
The Scottish Beaver Trial comes after years of lobbying by ecologists and conservation experts who believe that the beaver has been a missing part of the UK’s wetland eco-systems since being hunted to extinction in the 16th Century. Allan Bantick, Chairman of the Scottish Wildlife Trust and Chair of the Scottish Beaver Trial partnership, said: “The release of the beavers today means that we are one step closer to rebuilding the natural biodiversity of Scotland. Beavers are a native species made extinct by man and we are hoping that our trial reintroduction is a step towards seeing this corrected. Beavers are a species worth having in any ecosystem as their presence is known to bring a vast number of benefits to other native Scottish wildlife as well as wetland and waterside habitats.”
Forestry Commission Scotland is the host partner of the Scottish Beaver Trial and believes that Knapdale Forest is an ideal location to carry out the project as it covers a range of important habitats and biodiversity. The trial area is also in the heart of a forest which produces timber and provides recreational facilities for people, making it a great place to observe how beavers co-exist with forestry operations and the environment.
For more information about visiting the site and how you can volunteer to help the trial, log on to www.scottishbeavers.org.uk
Scottish Beaver Trial on Vimeo
- This entry was posted on: Monday, June 1st, 2009 at 9:19 am
- Filed under: Latest News, News
- Tags: beavers, biodiversity, Scottish Beaver Trial, Wildlife
- Follow responses with this feed: RSS 2.0
- You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
