“Beavers have been born” in the southeastern English region of “Hampshire for the first time in 400 years,” reports the BBC.
Two kits were spotted in early July in an enclosure on the Ewhurst Park estate…making them the first born in Hampshire since they went extinct in Britain in the 16th century. Beavers play a key role in ecosystem management and mitigating flood risk….The kits have since been captured on camera, swimming, splashing and gnawing on bark. Beavers were hunted to extinction in Britain in the 16th century.
“They were hunted for predominantly their fur but also for the castoreum which is an internal gland that was used for medicinal purposes and, until very recently, in perfumes,” said Robert Needham, restoration manager at Beaver Trust. “It was a very valuable animal.”
The two babies were born to parents Chompy and Hazel, who were released into the enclosure in January 2023. It was one of several places across England they were reintroduced to act as “ecosystem engineers”, building dams and felling trees to provide vital habitat and resources for insects, fish, plants, birds and bats, and help to mitigate flooding risks.
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