Britain’s Beaver Boom

TRANSCRIPT
Britain’s Beaver Boom

NARRATOR:
In some parts of Britain, people have a new chance to connect with nature and it's all thanks to a surprising animal: the beaver. Beavers once lived across the UK, but they were hunted to extinction here over 400 years ago. Now, conservationists are bringing them back and they’re already having a big impact. 

Beavers are known as nature’s engineers. They build dams from branches, roots and mud. These clever structures slow down streams and help stop flooding. In Scotland, the national reintroduction project is well under way. In the Cairngorms National Park, a baby beaver, called a kit, was born just months after its parents arrived. By 2030, conservationists hope around 10,000 beavers will be living in Scotland and many of their habitats will have been transformed into rich wetlands.

SOUNDBITE - Jonathan Willet:
“They've created these channels underwater and shifted the mud about in the bottom of the loch. So they're just creating lots and lots of diversity and lots of little places for lots of other animals to go and live.”

NARRATOR:
In Essex, a similar project is bringing beavers back to help protect the countryside. Since their return, the beavers have built many dams in the area. These dams help stop water from reaching people’s homes during heavy rain. The wetlands also hold water and release it slowly during dry periods. The project is now also celebrating the birth of two new kits! Their first appearance was caught on camera by wildlife photographer Russell Savory.

SOUNDBITE - Russell Savory:
“They just came out of this little burrow, but the kit was in the mother’s mouth and sort of round the mouth and sitting on top of the head and then just swam away and took them to the lodge. And it was just fantastic. It was one of those… one of those moments, really.”

NARRATOR:
As they return to woodland areas across Britain, beavers are helping to shape a more sustainable environment — one where people and nature can live side by side.