Beavers

[djm4_lj]

Six European beavers to be reintroduced to Gloucestershire. This is pretty cool, I think; in general, I'm in favour of reintroducing species that we used to have in this country unless they're obviously a pest. I love seeing red kites in more areas of Oxfordshire, for example.

Mind you, I can't help but feel that the person who wrote:

"...the beavers could also help keep waterways clear of debris."

has inexplicably forgotten the thing that beavers are best known for.

(In case you're thinking that maybe it's only the North American beaver that builds dams, this page suggests otherwise).

Comments

[drdoug.livejournal.com]

Yes, I heard the same seemingly-strage quote on the radio this morning.

I can imagine ways it could conceivably be true, though. Maybe beaver dams act as filters on rivers, so that debris that would otherwise accumulate all along the river bank is caught instead in the beaver's dam. Or maybe their nibbling habits keep the river margins clearer and more free-flowing.

[djm4]

Yes, I can think of several ways in which it might be true, too. But I I think that it's such a counter-intuitive thing to say that it deserves more elaboration, especially as the point was supposed to be how much less destructive the European beaver is than its American cousin.

[drdoug.livejournal.com]

it's such a counter-intuitive thing to say that it deserves more elaboration

I think you're right there. I'm now itching to know if it is indeed true, and how - and it's not instantly evident to me from a quick web trawl!