‘A beaver blind date’: animals given freedom to repopulate Cornish rivers (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 1 day ago by GreyShuck@feddit.uk to c/nature@feddit.uk

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Shivering and rain-drenched at the side of a pond in Cornwall, a huddle of people watched in hushed silence as a beaver took its first tentative steps into its new habitat. 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.

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[-] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Wow, that must have been a really special moment, very cool to have such an astounding creature back!

also

This project has been in the making since 2012. Because of the slow process, some conservationists have taken the matter into their own hands – a third party unknown to the Wildlife Trusts illegally dumped a pair of beavers on to the Tor in February 2024, a process known as “beaver bombing”.

this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2026

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