Beavers in Scotland

For some reason I think it's crucial that we have beavers in the UK.

  Quote

A total of 11 beavers have been released into the wild in Argyll as part of a reintroduction programme.

 

Four more may join the Scottish Beaver Trial being run in Knapdale Forest.

 

The beavers have been brought to Scotland from Norway and their release marks a return to the UK after a 400-year absence.

 

The release will be studied to determine whether the trial should be extended and beavers reintroduced across Scotland.

 

The Scottish Beaver Trial (SBT) is being carried out by the Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.

 

Project manager Simon Jones said the release of the beaver families on Friday "went extremely well".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8072443.stm

Use this thread to discuss beavers

i don't agree with the reintroduction of long gone or non-native species... and this seems to be just out of curiosity to see what happens and get some more tourists in. tell you what'll get the tourists in - A big fuck off PRIDE OF LIONS roaming the hills.

things like this don't tend to go well.

I hadn't considered that this might be some kind of gimmick to bring the tourists in. I was under the impression that the last thing they'd want would be for people to disturb the beavers. If the local ecosystem is potentially capable of supporting beavers (now that we've decided to stop using their testicles for medicine), why not try and bring them back? Biodiversity is a good thing! If they were a non-native species it'd be different I suppose.

that article says not, but this must have a huge impact on the habitat of our existing wildlife.

if a beaver dams a river the surrounding area will flood, other areas will dry out, the river will find new paths, the fish won't find their way upstream to spawn... the whole ecosystem will be thrown out of kilter on the whim of the tourist board. it might be an attraction to see some beaver in scotland but will those smaller, harder to spot mammals stick around when mr.beaver chops down their habitat?

we probably hunted them to extinction all those years ago anyway. we should leave well alone now.

Fair enough reason for not wanting beavers. In their defense, this is a very small experiment with one colony of beavers. We're talking less than 20 animals here. Hopefully they'll be able to examine the impact of the beavers on the very local ecosystem without causing any widespread disruption to currently native species.

  keltoi said:

it might be an attraction to see some beaver in scotland

*innuendo*

i'm gonna get me some beaver, man i love gettin me some beaver.

red squirrels for instance... pretty much only thrive in scotland now cos the non-native greys are bigger and stronger and have taken over... you'll struggle to find a red south of the border these days.

anyway they are so vulnerable to changes in their environment that if the beavers start felling large areas of woodland they could easily be forced into extinction.

i must sound like a right eco-warrior.

one beaver destruction..

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11...tion-Devon.html

two fallen trees is a "path of destruction"? lol.

what have red squirrels ever done for us?

to be honest i think scotland already has enough furry wet beavers

  chenGOD said:

two fallen trees is a "path of destruction"? lol.

lol

Can some moderator delete all Keltoi's posts from this thread? They are dreadful, even by his low standards.

The 3 in a row he did ooze dullness like nothing I have ever seen.

pics of scottish beavers or gtfo

  tv_party said:

pics of scottish beavers or gtfo

I searched... not one bonnie lass showing off the shepards!

  keltoi said:

it might be an attraction to see some beaver in scotland but will those smaller, harder to spot mammals stick around when mr.beaver chops down their habitat?

It's ok, if the beavers get out of control, they can just reintroduce wolves...or bears

  Dr Clitterhaus said:

Can some moderator delete all Keltoi's posts from this thread? They are dreadful, even by his low standards.

The 3 in a row he did ooze dullness like nothing I have ever seen.

glad to see clitterhaus is still cutting through the pretentious bullshit...and not, y'know, just being a massive git or anything...

beavers are ours. get the fuck off my lawn.

i'm more in to the wolf being re-introduced into scotland

bout time IMO

i think the time is nigh to reintroduce a few colonies of locusts and killer bees. Maybe a few pissed off grizzly bears. not a lot! Just like 20 or something.

i think they should definitely get lions in scotland.

are beavers edible?

dr. clit please pm me we'll get a room.