Reintroduction of locally extinct species

No sure whether this is a good idea. On the one hand, European beavers are native to Scotland, so it's not like you'll be introducing an invasive non-native species. On the other hand, if their habitats have been decimated, the beavers will either suffer or adapt in new ways that may be detrimental to other native species.

Has any environmental impact study been carried out before the plans were made? This could well have disastrous consequences, just like the introduction of rabbits and cane toads to Australia.

The chap being interviewed said (paraphrasing) "We've studied it to death for the last 7 years ... ".

I don't think the rabbit/cane toad scenarios would obtain. If they were hunted to extinction back then, it shouldn't take long to repeat the exercise with modern weapons.

There's also talk (rather more controversial) of re-introducing wolves!

Just hope they know what they're doing. Beavers are cute, sure, but they destroy trees and eat wood. Gonna have a lot of pretty irate estate owners furious over the pretty trees by their river banks chopped down.

I know the rabbit/cane toad scenarios may not be applicable here since these aren't native to Australia. On the other hand, if the beavers' original habitats have already been destroyed, who knows what impact their introduction will have on the new areas they've been introduced to?

As for wolves, why do I keep thinking of dead chicken & sheep and furious, shotgun-totting farmers?

In nature beavers are beneficial in providing open land for grazing animals. The small shallow reservoir that they build catch silt from rain run off. The reservoirs soon silt in providing in open area for grass to grow for grazing animals. The dam while it tact will preform many beneficial things. Cleaning the water allowing the silt to settle out. Providing habitat for aquatic life that dwell in calmer waters then a fast running stream. Provide habitat for water fowl to raise their young in relative safety. Beaver only eat specific trees so they will do not take up residence just any where.

As far as the people there will all ways be people for and against any change.

With in 20 miles of my home there is a beaver dam that has been there for as long as I can remember. The original beaver set up home stopping up a natural spring with in 50 ft of US Highway. Over the years he has built his dam high enough to flood the highway. Road crews would then come out and tear it down to reasonable level to drain the highway. Last time they tore it all the way down and drained his little pond and the community was up in arms. Local politicians took a reaming from the public. There is now a concrete dam there so that no road crew will ever take it down below a certain level.

The western part of the state officials pushed reintroduction of the beaver to help clean up the water from strip mining for coal. This type of mining has been made illegal because of the water pollution. The reservoirs force water into the aquifers in which it can remove heavy metals from the water run off from the mining.

So the little guys are our friends so lets help them if we can. We will need more and more clean water.

I think beavers are a good thing...

There are wild boar roaming about down south where they have escaped from farms.

I'd rather meet a beaver than a wild boar... (those baby boars are sooo cute and stripey.....)

...and toothy!

Hi Del.

Not only wild boar and beaver have been introduced into the UK in recent years, what about the 200 or so wallabies in Derbyshire, the African green parrots in the southeastern counties, ospreys in Scotland, and in Scotland there is a group of people who are trying to introduce the wolf back to our shores!

I have visited the wolf enclosure, it is 28 acres of woodland and scrub, it was amazing to see these noble animals close up.

Spencer.

Are the wallabies on Dunstable Down too? escaped from Whipsnade zoo or is that a figment of my imagination?

Hi Del.

I do believe that there are wallabies on Dunstable Down, by the way there was a TV program last year that proved that Honey Badgers were on the loose in Somerset. They showed two of these southern European badger they had caught in a trap, and as yet nobody knows how they got there.

Spencer.

I am always pleased to see an extra "Beaver" or two ANYWHERE!!

Agreed!!

I've been all over Scotland. They should consider reforestation before reintroducing beavers. Most of the forests have long been cut down around the same time they wiped out wolves and I don't think beavers eat Heather.

I bet that got Heather pretty upset!!

Sure, go ahead. Bring back wolves and bears too, that will reduce the excess population, particularly if it is illegal for people to kill the poor wild animals, who are only acting in accordance with sacred Nature, to defend their own lives. LOL

Try Jurassic Park if you want to bring back really extinct animals. That didn't work too well either.

How extinct is extinct? Extinct means no longer exists, right? Where did these beavers come from? Some where in Canada a group of beavers is missing, a damn is sitting there unattended... If they can bring back extinct beavers let's see a dodo or something...

As the title of the thread states, they are locally extinct, i.e. no longer found in Scotland. The can still be found aplenty in some other parts of Europe.

Update - just heard on the radio that 11 beavers are being introduced in Scotland today.