THE birth of at least two new babies in a family of beavers now thriving at Greenford is being celebrated as both historic and a huge advancement in urban rewilding.
The successful reintroduction, and now birth of baby beavers, is the work of The Ealing Beaver Project, a collaboration between Ealing Wildlife Group, Citizen Zoo, Friends of Horsenden and Ealing Council, with support from Beaver Trust and Mayor of London with funding from the Rewild London Fund.
The babies were born this Spring and have emerged outside the lodge in recent weeks at the fully accessible, public site at Paradise Fields.
The births end the absence, for more than 400 years, of breeding beavers in urban London.
They were once permanent residents in the capital, before hunting, habitat loss and persecution led to the species being lost.
In October last year, a family of five Eurasian beavers were released at Paradise Fields, an urban wetland.
The beavers were relocated from wild populations in Scotland by experts at Beaver Trust and Five Sisters Zoo. This reintroduction was the first of its kind in the UK.
Within eight months, the family had built lodges, dams, new waterways and have now welcomed at least two new kits.
Guided tours around the site, offering insight and explanation of all the beaver activity and environmental changes can be booked via the Ealing Wildlife Group Eventbrite page at https://www.eventbrite.com/o/73770039673.
Otherwise, people are encouraged to remember the beaver family are wild animals and to respect their space.
Dr Sean McCormack, Ealing Beaver Project licence holder and Chair of Ealing Wildlife Group said: “I had every confidence our beaver family would settle in at Paradise Fields, but to discover they’ve had new baby kits this Spring is really the icing on the beaver cake!”
Jon Staples, Ealing Council park ranger, said: “Beaver kits are a brilliant indication that the family group is settled and thriving, that they've an abundance of food and suitable habitat.”
Paradise Fields is a 10-hectare site comprising woodland, wetlands and meadows in North Greenford and is part of the wider Horsenden Hill green space.
It lies to the south of the Grand Union Canal and has a tributary of the Costons Brook flowing through it, which joins the River Brent and later the Thames. The beaver enclosure incorporates most of the site.
If you would like to support the ongoing running costs of the project, you can donate on the new website: https://theealingbeaverproject.com/donate/
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