Plants- Animals Science News

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.

Colin Galbraith, of Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), has been an enthusiastic backer of the scheme.

He said: "I think this is a hugely exciting move and one in which we've got to take people with us.

"There's never been a reintroduction of a mammal back to the UK.

"We've done the red kite and the sea eagle - they've gone pretty well - people are now behind that.

"We've got to try to do this reintroduction of a mammal in a very scientific careful and monitored way."

But not everyone has been behind the scheme.

Alan Kettlewhite, a biologist with Argyll Fisheries Trust, said: "Potentially they can alter the habitats of fish, restricting access to spawning grounds.

"I think the concerns are based on studies in other countries where sometimes dam-building can prevent fish access to their spawning grounds, particularly in dry years where you don't get much rain in the autumn time."

But SNH's Colin Galbraith said he felt a duty towards the beavers.

"For me the argument is very simple. They were here - we killed them out. I think we've got the moral obligation to bring them back," he said.

Continuously tested

Project officer Jenny Holden said: "The main things people are concerned about are giardia and cryptosporidium.

"They are bacteria that can infect the guts of humans and make you feel really quite unwell - food-poisoning type bugs.

"The beavers that are released will have been tested continuously for six months and then throughout the five year trial to make sure they are clear of these bacteria.

"So if we find a few years down the line that the beavers are infected, they won't have brought it in, they will have caught it out in the environment here."

Darren Dobson is from the Carinbaan Hotel near the release site.

He is delighted at the prospect of beavers, and hopes they will prove to be a major tourist attraction.

He said: "Generally speaking it's all positive. I haven't met anyone myself who is negative to the idea.

"It's going to bring more tourists - and this is just one more thing to add to what this area's got."

Scottish Natural Heritage, (SNH), will monitor the relationship between beavers and woodland, water plants, river habitat, water levels, otters, dragonflies, damselflies and freshwater fish.

The beavers themselves will also be under close scrutiny, using tracking data.

SNH will co-ordinate the scientific monitoring work with a range of independent bodies, including Oxford University Wildlife Conservation Research Unit and the Argyll Fisheries Trust.

SNH is contributing £275,000 to the cost of monitoring the trial.

It is claimed the trial will be a major contribution to Scotland's Species Action Framework, which identifies 32 species, including European beaver, as the focus of new management action.