The great beaver comeback

Illegal 'beaver bombing' is on the rise as activists release rodents into rivers

Eurasian beaver eating a leaf in a river in Scotland.
There have been no official releases of beavers but the animals have been appearing across Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire
(Image credit: Ian Sherratt / Alamy)

Britain's beavers were hunted to extinction 400 years ago for their lustrous fur and castoreum – a musky secretion used in perfumery until the 20th century. But in the last decade, growing numbers of the giant rodents have been spotted along the country's waterways.

At first, these "implausible sightings" were "dismissed as otters", said Tom Whipple in The Times. However, there was only so long the "nibbled branches" and "unexplained dams" could be ignored before it became obvious beavers were back.

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Irenie Forshaw is a features writer at The Week, covering arts, culture and travel. She began her career in journalism at Leeds University, where she wrote for the student newspaper, The Gryphon, before working at The Guardian and The New Statesman Group. Irenie then became a senior writer at Elite Traveler, where she oversaw The Experts column.