Beavers are being brought back to Cornwall
The first beavers in 500 years are being released in Cornwall as the result of a Crowdfunder campaign that raised thousands of pounds.
Run by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust and Woodland Valley Farm, the project will see these furry creatures return to the county after they were hunted to extinction in the UK 400 years ago.
The aim of the project is to show how beavers can really benefit the area around them, showing that they can create a new wildlife habitat, reduce flooding, and make our water cleaner.
The beavers will be reintroduced upstream of Ladock village, near Truro, into a fenced area. The location was chosen because of the severe flooding that it has suffered.
Via the Crowdfunder website, a spokesperson for the project has said: “Our partner universities will study the before and after impacts, building on research from reintroductions in the UK and across Europe.
“The results will help us find out if this native species could once again become part of the Cornish landscape to help us combat flooding – naturally. You can be part of this exciting story”.
The site also goes into further detail about the reasoning behind bring beavers back.
“Eurasian Beavers were once a native species of the British Isles and are a ‘keystone species’ of wetland habitats – meaning they benefit a wide range of wildlife species, from fish and frogs to insects and birds. At a beaver reintroduction site in Devon the number of frog spawn clumps went from 10 to 580 in just five years!
“Beavers also have the potential to reduce flooding – their activities such as building dams and digging water channels enable the land around them to hold more water. This means that during very heavy rainfall water doesn’t flow as quickly into rivers, which will help prevent them overflowing and bursting their banks.
“This same activity helps make river water cleaner. Slowing the flow of the water helps to filter it, causing soil sediment and pollutants to settle at the bottom of beaver ponds, essentially trapping them away.”
You never know what you might spot during your holiday to a Cornwall caravan park. With dolphins, foxes, seals and more, Cornwall is already such a magnificent hub for wildlife, and the reintroduction of beavers will only enhance this fact.
