I think the four or five main colonies all came from Boar farms and in each case the degree of their purity is therefore a matter for conjecture. The ones in Kent/Sussex do 'look' pure though interestingly a proportion of the piglets they produce are a 'silvery' colourphase. I'm sure how pure they are also determines how quickly(or not) they revert to being feral/nocturnal. Defra seems to be taking a long time to get off the fence over the GB Boar issue. I hope they are allowed to stay- certainly in areas where they aren't causing a real nuisance which of course is always magnified by press etc.
Certainly some of the boar populations are definitely escapees/deliberate (de-liberated??). I believe that the Kent population (another group I am familiar with) were the result of animals taken from the farm to the slaughterhouse and kept in 'normal' pig housing, which of course they escaped from. They all tend to look quite boar-like to me, but I suppose some expert can tell the difference (as long as they have long bristles, long snouts and upright ears). The ferals living in northern Australia look pretty similar too, so I imagine it doesn't take many generations. Ever notice that feral dogs don't look like wolves though... Defra are taking a long time to make a decision. They would probably like the problem to go away. The boar safari/sight-seeing tours in Kent don't guarantee getting close to them let alone seeing them - quite skittish. Start shooting them and they will all back off and be impossible to remove! It is probably in the too-hard basket currently. Another issue that Defra has to deal with is the EU directive towards re-establishing native species. Even this is fraught with problems: White-tailed eagles into Skye is fine; into Norfolk broads might kill off all the bitterns. Beavers might kill or the fish and flood everybody (summer 2007, all over again...). Great bustards might... I dunno, take out passenger jets??? Last thing they want to deal with is dog-bullying, car-smashing, garden-ripping (and very tasty) pigs that they may even have to protect. Wolves? Bears? Hah! That will be the day.
That's a pretty good appraisal of the current situation/stand-off. I like the idea of planes falling out of the sky caused by 'nuisance' Great Bustards too.
I'm sort of waiting for some really good evidence to come out of large cats in our countryside, I think when someone gets lucky enough to take some good footage it will render the whole predator introduction debate slightly irrelevant.
Maybe more of the larger collections in the UK should bring in European beavers along with the HWP, wildwood and Slimbridge showing them as a link to native species conservation.
Has anyone ever seen any of these beavers? You can include the Martinmere pair and any others that are around. Speaking entirely personally, while I am in favour of keeping and reintroducing European beavers, I think they make the worst zoo exhibits ever, they just never appear. The only time I have ever seen European beavers was at Zurich Zoo in 1973. Alan
the only time I think I've seen Beavers in a zoo is on a postcard... I've seen North american ones quite easily in the wild.
North American beavers aren't much different. If you can see a beaver easily in captivity, it probably isn't very happy....Chessingtons old beaver pond or Beaver Water World in Kent springs to mind....if they have a decent enclosure they'll be out and about late and early and holed up during the main part of the day (Eg. Drusillas park). I think some zoos on the continent (I forget which) have created stunning beaver exhibits by allowing the public to see into the lodge using mirrors.
Completely agree, and I've worked with them too! I did come up with an idea to create a nocturnal display within a fake lodge, complete with underwater tunnels, in order to see them. However I ended up leaving before my plans came close to fruition. Any exhibit which gives beavers access to natural substrates will have problems - they will burrow into banks, disrupt water supply/flow/filtration, reduce water visibility, obviously denude any living vegetation, and in general are shy retiring critters. I think they only work well if the animals have been hand-reared or live in a traditional concrete pit (obviously I don't advocate either). They look lovely when you one, though.
I think it is possible to create a good exhibit, you just need to use mirrors to allow public a view into the lodge. I don't get why more zoos don't do this. The drusillas exhibit remained stunning because the entire enclosure, which is comparatively large, has wire laid underneath the soil and plants. Only a couple of years back when it changed hands the new owners added a pair of capybara into the mix.....obviously trying to give people something to look at when the beavers were out of sight, now the exhibit looks a little worn, and pretty strange....
An update on the released beavers, they have built their first lodge in mid Argyll. Scotland’s wild beavers build their first lodge
One beaver diagnosed with a heart problem has been brought back into captivity at Edinburgh zoo, and 2 animals on stand by for release at HWP. Heart problems mean it's an end to wild living for beaver - Scotsman.com News
A further pair of European beavers have been released into a site in mid Argyll. Fresh release of beavers into wild in five-year Scottish trial - Herald Scotland | News | Transport & Environment
The first kits have been born to the released beavers in mid-Argyll BBC News - 'First' newborn beavers spotted in the Argyll Forest
Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere but the Martin Mere beavers produced a male baby last year which was hand-reared. Judging from the website it was easy to see while it was young. I haven't been for ages and haven't seen it for myself. Baby beaver - Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT)
I attended a conference on 'Unknown Wales' at the National Museum of Wales , Cardiff , today , organised by the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales . Iolo Williams gave a very enthusiastic opening speech . The next talk was by Derek Gow on some of the large mammals that previously could be found in Wales and when they probably disappeared . Amongst others this covered aurochsen , lynx , wolf and wild boar . He talked enthusiastically about beavers and the case for introducing them to Wales . He also mentioned the 'unofficial' population of European beavers - I believe to be found in the Tayside area . I first heard of these in 'BBC Wildlife' magazine in the Spring where it was stated that the Scottish Government said that they would be captured as they were not legally released and were not ' the right sort of beaver' . Derek Gow said the population could number well over 100 and that the Scottish Government is close to admitting that they cannot be removed and so will be officially be accepted as a wild population .
Are they North American in origin? Or European beavers but from the 'wrong' race for reintroduction to UK.(as with the Great Bustard, the Spanish race is not suitable) If its a case of the latter it wouldn't seem too important.
