Five beavers transform their new Sussex 'paradise'

Beavers recently moved to East Sussex woodland have made an "incredible" difference to its ecosystem, those responsible for the project have said.

Five beavers, a mother and four kits, are relishing life after being transported from Scotland to Bowyers Wood near Uckfield, where they are now in a 1km enclosure.

Presenter Chris Packham, chief ecologist for Ecotalk, said the beavers had been living under a road but now had "part of paradise Sussex as their own backyard".

Separately, a government licence scheme introduced last year allows beavers to be released into the wild, with the "ecosystem engineers" living freely in rivers and streams for the first time in 400 years.

Ecotalk, which manages a 250-acre rewilding project in the wood, relocated the beavers with the help of charity Green Britain Foundation (GBF).

Conservation officer and beaver lead for GBF, Grace Garland, described beavers as a "keystone species" that had a "disproportionate" environmental impact compared with others.

She said: "When they back up the water, that's creating breeding grounds for fish behind the dams...[and] taking out the trees is allowing more flora and fauna to come up for nesting birds."

The beavers can restore wetlands, reduce flood risk, improve water quality and boost biodiversity.

With water levels rising since their introduction, Garland said the semiaquatic mammals had made an "incredible" difference in a short space of time.

According to Packham, the aim of the project is to make the already "green and pleasant" Bowyers Wood look even better.

"This wood needs a lot of management, so who better to do it than beavers?" he added.

A National Farmers' Union (NFU) spokesperson said it recognised that "in the right location, beavers can provide certain benefits" and "some farmers and landowners may be interested in beaver reintroduction opportunities".

"However, we are concerned about the negative impacts beavers can have on productive farmland, as well as the management requirements, costs and risks involved."

The NFU said it was pleased the government had committed to a "long-term beaver management plan" but believed "this should be established before any further wild releases are considered".

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