"As it dived into the water with a determined plop and began swimming laps, the suspense broke and everyone looked around, grinning. The soggy but momentous occasion marks the first time in English history that beavers have been legally released into a river system, almost one year after the government finally agreed to grant licences for releases. It's a beaver blind date, said Cheryl Marriott, the director of nature and people for the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, as another made its way into the water."
"The two beavers released into a top-secret location at the Helman Tor reserve are from enclosures across the country: one from Cheshire and the other from Dorset. They were meeting for the first time on Monday when they were released together into the same pond, while two others were released at a nearby site. The beaver experts at the charity will be watching the pair closely to see if they get along."
Beavers were legally released into an English river system for the first time at Helman Tor in Cornwall. Two beavers from Cheshire and Dorset were released together into one pond while two others were released nearby. The releases follow government licensing introduced almost a year earlier and follow a contained release at Purbeck Heaths that cannot access a river system. Conservationists will monitor the animals closely to see if they pair and breed. A stud book will be used to maintain genetic diversity. Beavers were hunted to extinction in the UK four hundred years ago for pelts and oil. Their dam-building activity can rapidly improve the environment.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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