I was reading the times today and came across an interesting story. A beaver has escaped from captivity and has been causing chaos in the surrounding area. Apparently neighbours have been waking up with trees felled in the garden and piles of chippings laying around the stumps!
The former owners is said to be "doubtful" of its recapture!
It's amazing how such a small thing can make headline news! I also read the article which claimed the beaver felled 6 trees in a single night. If true that is quite impressive.
Does anyone know if the beaver will be able to survive for a long period of time in the UK? I know that beavers did used to live here, but surely one kept in captivity would not have the skills to survive alone?
Not only can they survive, but European beavers were re-introduced into Britain in 2005. Beavers are extreme manipulators of their environment, not quite on a par with humans, but close.
They can cause severe damage due to flooding (because of their dams retaining water), but they can enhance the environment for the same reason (because they provide a wetland environment).
So, the short answer would be that the beaver could survive. However, beavers live in a co-operative society, and one beaver by itself may find it hard to survive for long.
I don't know if North American beavers would be able to interbreed with the European beaver. I'll have to do some consulting!
Kingfisher
That's very interesting - I had no idea that European beavers were re-introduced in Britain a couple of years ago. Do you know the areas that they were released?
I was quite surprised to see that myself! Here's the link to the article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/glouc...380276.stm
I was also interested to note that this scheme had been attempted in 2001, as well.
I would be curious to know (since this second attempt was made in 2005) if the beavers have managed to breed this second time around.
Kingfisher
Most interestingly, I just read in the newspaper about an American beaver which has been found in New York City! Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a link to the story. It's apparently there by itself, so it's an interesting parallel.
Kingfisher
Most interestingly, I just read in the newspaper about an American beaver which has been found in New York City! Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a link to the story. It's apparently there by itself, so it's an interesting parallel.
Kingfisher
The beavers are taking over! 
That is an interesting parallel story, do you know how the beaver has been behaving in New York? Has it been causing as much destruction as its UK counterpart?
I do not believe it has been causing as much destruction, although apparently it was first noticed because someone observed the beaver lodge.
Here's an informative link, courtesy of ABC News:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?i...SFeeds0312
It's very interesting!
Kingfisher
It seems the New York beaver has actually set up home in the city which is pretty bold for a usually timid animal. I haven't heard anymore about the beaver in the UK, I suppose it's not exactly headlining news, but I would be fascinated to know how it is getting on and whether it has started to build up a home for itself.
Beavers are, well, as busy as beavers for a reason
. I would suspect that the escapee in the UK has probably set up at least a lodge (partially why he would be felling trees), although he probably has not built a dam.
The lodge is for protection against predators. Normal predators for American beavers range from (depending on location) bears, mountain lions, wolves, coyotes and foxes, so a fox would still be likely to attack a beaver, even in the UK.
The lodge has an underwater entrance, so any predator seeking to kill the beaver has to be able to swim underwater. Even bears in the US have a hard time with opening up a beaver lodge--they tend to be quite substantially built.
We'll definitely have to keep an eye on this!
Kingfisher