Mind-Blowing: Majestic Beavers Make Startling Comeback to West London After 4 Centuries!
Beavers make a remarkable comeback in west London after 400 years as a family of these industrious creatures is reintroduced to the Paradise Fields wetlands in Ealing
After a 400-year absence, wild beavers have made a comeback in London's Ealing district. On Wednesday, a family of five Eurasian beavers, including a breeding pair and three of their young, were brought from Scotland and released in the wetlands area known as Paradise Fields, located in west London's Ealing.
The Ealing Beaver Project aims to utilize beavers to mitigate the risk of flooding and connect people with nature. London Mayor Sadiq Khan, present at the release, highlighted that beavers contribute to the ecosystem by building dams and emphasized the positive impact they have on both humans and nature in our city.
His Rewild London Fund provided almost £40,000 ($49,000) in funding for the project.
Paradise Fields is an area of wetlands and woodlands.
James Stacey/CNN
Sean McCormack, the chair of Ealing Wildlife Group, who is involved in the beaver initiative, expressed that Paradise Fields serves as a small nature sanctuary bordering a large retail park and the urban area of Greenford.
Considering that Greenford is already prone to flooding and the situation is anticipated to worsen due to climate change, implementing a system of dams by the beavers in the area would be beneficial. These dams would help create wetlands that effectively function as a massive sponge, mitigating the flood risk.
Wild beavers were eradicated from the UK more than four centuries ago due to hunting for their valuable meat and fur. However, efforts to reintroduce them have been successful in Devon, southwest England. Moreover, in 2022, the legal protection of beavers in England was established, providing a positive foundation for conservation and rewilding initiatives.
March 2022 witnessed the release of beavers in Enfield, located in north London. Remarkably, just recently, it was officially disclosed that a baby beaver was born in the area, marking the first beaver birth in London in centuries.
McCormack emphasized the importance of coexisting with nature while acknowledging that the Ealing site will be off-limits to the public for a month to enable the beavers to acclimate. By year-end, however, the area will be accessible to visitors, showcasing the valuable ecosystem services rendered by these industrious creatures.
