Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Beavers in Britain

Planning Reintroduction

  • Chapter
Beaver Protection, Management, and Utilization in Europe and North America

Abstract

Over the last twenty years there has been regular discussion and debate about the desirability and feasibility of reintroducing the beaver to Britain (Yalden, 1986; Sage, 1981; Lever, 1980a, b, 1987, 1994; Halley, 1995; Macdonald, Tattersall, Brown, and Balharry, 1995). The European beaver, Castor fiber,once occurred in wooded areas throughout much of England, Wales and Scotland (Rackham, 1986; Clutton-Brock, 1991; Abyes and Yalden, 1995), but finally died out, in Scotland, in the 16th century (Conroy and Kitchener, 1996). The first positive step towards the species’ return was taken in 1995, when Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), the government agency responsible for nature conservation in Scotland, publicly committed themselves to investigating the possibility of reintroducing beavers to Scotland, and to coordinating any resulting releases.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Amori, G., and Zima, J., 1993, Threatened rodents in Europe: species status and some suggestions for conservation strategies, Fol. Zool. 43:1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andrews, E., Barratt, M., Liles, G., Crawford, A., Scott, H., and Lenton, E., 1986, The Otter Haven Project, Vincent Wildlife Trust Report 1985:5–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aspinall, R., and Veitch, N., 1993, Habitat mapping from satellite imagery and wildlife survey data using a Bayesian modelling procedure in a GIS. Photogrammetic Engineering and Remote Sensing 59:537–543.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aybes, C., and Yalden, D.W., 1995, Place-name evidence for the former distribution and status of Wolves and Bea-vers in Britain. Mamm. Rev. 25:201–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balodis, M. M., 1994, Beaver population of Latvia: history, development and management, Proceedings of the Latvian Academy ofSciences,B 7/8:122–127.

    Google Scholar 

  • Besuchet, C., 1978, Reintroduction of Platypsyllus castoris Rits. (Coleoptera, Leptinidae) in Switzerland, Bull. Soc. Entom. Suisse. 51:291–292. [In French, with English summary].

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyce, M. S., 1992, Population viability analysis. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 23:481–506.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buchholz, L., and Sikora, S., 1984, Platsysyllus castoris. Ritsema, 1869 (Coleoptera, Platypsyllidae), a new beetle for the fauna of Poland, Przeglad. Zool. 28:501–506. [In Polish, with English summary].

    Google Scholar 

  • Buech, R. R., 1985, Methodologies for observing Beavers (Castor canadensis) during the activity period, in: Nocturnal mammals: techniques for study, (R. P. Brooks, ed.), Pennsylvania State University, School for Resources, Research Paper 48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Busher, P. E., Warner, R. J., and Jenkins, S. H., 1983, Population density, colony composition, and local movements in two Sierra Nevaden Beaver populations. J. Mamm. 64:314–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caughley, G., 1994, Directions in Conservation Biology. J. Anim. Ecol. 63:215–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chambers, F. M., and Elliott, L., 1989, Spread and expansion of Alnus Mill. in the British Isles: timing agencies and possible vectors, J. Biogeog. 16:541–550.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chambers, F. M., and Price, S. -M., 1985, Palaeoecology of Alnus (alder): early post-glacial rise in a valley mire, North-West Wales, New Phytol. 101:370–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clutton-Brock, J., 1991, Canadian Beaver, Castor canadensis, in: The Handbook of British Mammals, 3rd ed., (G. B. Corbet and S. Harris, eds.), p. 572, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coles, J. M., and Orme, B. J., 1983, Homo sapiens or Castor fiber?,Antiquity 57:95–102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collen, P., 1997, Review of the potential impact of reintroducing European Beaver Castor fiber L. on the ecology and movement of native fishes, and the likely implications for current angling practices in Scotland. Scottish Natural Heritage Review No. 86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conroy, J. W. H., and Kitchener, A. C., 1996, The European Beaver (Castor fiber) in Scotland: A review of the literature and historical evidence. Scottish Natural Heritage No. 49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, M., 1996, Reintroduction of the European beaver to Scotland, Reintroduction News 12:11–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Curry-Lindahl, K., 1967, The Beaver, Castor fiber Linnaeus, 1758 in Sweden - Extermination and Reappearance, Acta Ther. 12:1–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Danilov, P. I., 1995, Canadian and European Beaver in the Russian Northwest - distribution, number and comparative ecology, in: The Third Nordic Beaver Symposium, 1992, Finland, pp.10–16, Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, Helsinki.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daview, J. R., Von Recum, A. F., Smith, D. D., and Guynn, D. K., 1984, Implantable telemetry in Beaver, Wildl. Soc. Bull. 12:322–324.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellegren, H., Hartman, G., Johansson, M., and Andersson, L., 1993, Major histocompatibility complex monomorphism and low levels of DNA fingerprinting variability in a reintroduced and rapidly expanding population of beavers, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90:8150–8153.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Estève, R., 1988, An analysis of Beaver mortality in Haute-Savoie, Bievre 9(2):171–176. [In French, with English summary].

    Google Scholar 

  • Gillespie, P. S., 1976, Summer activities, home range and habitat use of Beavers, M.Sc. thesis, University of Toronto.

    Google Scholar 

  • Griffith, B., Johnston, C. A., Scott, J. M., Carpenter, J. W., and Reed, C., 1989, Translocation as a species conservation tool: status and strategy, Science 245:477–480.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gurnell, A. M., 1997, Analysis of the effects of Beaver dam-building activities on local hydrology. Scottish Natural Heritage Review No. 85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halley, D., 1995, The Proposed reintroduction of the beaver to Britain, Reintroduction News 10:17–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartman, G., 1994, Long-term population development of a reintroduced beaver (Castor,/fiber) population in Sweden, Cons. Biol. 8:713–717.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heidecke, D., 1983, Bestandssituation des Elbebibers und Schutzmassnamen in der DDR, Mitteilungen der BAG Artenschutz Magdeburg 6(2):1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heidecke, D., 1985, Erste Ergebnisse der Biberumsiedlungen in der DDR, Zoologische Abhandlungen Staatliches Museum fur Tierkunde Dresden 41(12):137–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heidecke, D., 1986, Bestandssituation und Schutz von Castor fiber albicus, Zoologische Abhandlungen Staatliches Museum fur Tierkunde Dresden 41(9):111–119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heidecke, D., 1989, Okologische bewertung von Biberhabitaten, Saugertierkundliche Mitteilungen 3:13–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • HMSO, 1994, Biodiversity, The UK Action Plan, HMSO, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howells, O., and Edward-Jones, G., 1997, A feasibility study of reintroducing wild boar Sus scrofa to Scotland: Are existing woodland large enough to support minimum viable populations. Biol. Cons. 81:77–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IUCN, 1998, Guidelines for reintroductions, IUCN/SSC Reintroduction Specialist Group, IUCN, Gland, Switzer-land and Cambridge, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnston, C. A., Pastor, J., and Naiman, R. J., 1993, Effects of Beaver and Moose on boreal forest landscapes, in: Landscape ecology and geographic information systems, (R. Haines-Young, D. R. Green and S. Cousins, eds.), pp. 237–254, Taylor and Francis, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lacy, R. C., 1993, VORTEX: a computer simulation model for population viability analysis, Wildl. Res. 20:45–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laysund, S., 1977a, Beaver population dynamics in Sweden, in: Proceedings from the Nordic Symposium on the beaver, Ramsele, 23rd-26th Sept. 1975,Institute of Forest Zoology, Research Notes 26, (S. Laysund, ed.), pp.26–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laysund, S., 1977b, Beaver hunting methods in Sweden, in: Proceedings from the Nordic Symposium on the Beaver, Ramsele, 23rd-26th Sept.,1975, Institute of Forest Zoology, Research Notes 26, (S. Laysund, ed.), pp 79–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lever, C., 1980a, No to the Beaver, Ecos 1:22–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lever, C., 1980b, No Beavers for Britain, New Scientist 80:812–814.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lever, C., 1987, The case against the Beaver, Illustrated London News 269 (April, 1987):38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lever, C., 1994, The proposed reintroduction of the beaver to Britain, Reintroduction News 9:14–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lima, S. L., and Zollner, P. A., 1996, Towards a behavioural ecology of ecological landscapes, TREE 11:131–135.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Macdonald, D. W., Tattersall, F. H., Brown, E. D., and Balharry, D., 1995, Reintroducing the European Beaver to Britain: nostalgic meddling or restoring boidiversity?, Mamm. Rev. 25:161–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macdonald, D. W., Maitland, P., Rao, S., Strachan, R., and Tattersall, F., 1997, Development of a protocol for identifying beaver release sites. Scottish Natural Heritage Research, Survey and Monitoring Report No. 93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macdonald, D.W., Tattersall, F. H., Rushton, S., Rao, S., Maitland, P. and Strachan, R., subm., Reintroducing the Beaver (Castor fiber) to Scotland: A protocol for identifying and assessing suitable release sites. Anim. Cons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macdonald, D. W., Mace, G., and Rushton, S., 1998, Proposals for future monitoring of British mammals, Department of the Environment, Transort and the Regions.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macdonald, D. W., Rushton, S., Mace, G., in press, Mammal Conservation in Britain: is there a radical future?, in: Future priorities for the conservation of mammalian diversity, (A. Entwhistle and N. Dunstone, eds.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mallorie, H. C., and Flowerdew, J. R., 1994, Woodland small mammal population ecology in Britain: a preliminary review of the Mammal Society survey of Wood Mice Apodemus sylvaticus and Bank Voles Clethrionomys glareolus, 1982–87, Mamm. Rev. 24:1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mickus, A., 1995, The European Beaver (Castor fiber L.) in Lithuania, in: The Third Nordic Beaver Symposium, 1992,Finland, pp.44–45, Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, Helsinki.

    Google Scholar 

  • Migot, P., and Rouland, P., 1989, La reintroduction du castor en France: essai de synthese et reflexions, Bulletin Mensuel Office National de la Chasse 132:35–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mills, M. G. L., Ellis, S., Woodroffe, R., Maddock, A., Stander, P., Rasmussen, G., Pole, A., Fletcher, P., Bruford, M., Wildt, D., Macdonald, D., Seal, U. (eds.), 1998, Population and Habitat Viability Assessment for the African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus) in Southern Africa. Final report from the Workshop, 13–17 October, 1997, Pretoria South Africa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naiman, R. J., Melillo, J. M., and Hobbie, J. E., 1986, Ecosystem alteration of boreal forest streams by Beaver (Castor canadensis), Ecol. 67:1254–1269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Rivers Authority, 1995, River Habitat Survey: Field methodology guidance manual.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nolet, B. A., 1994, Return of the Beaver to the Netherlands, Viability and prospects of a re-introduced population, PhD. Thesis, University of Groningen, Groningen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nolet, B. A., and Baveco, J. M., 1996, Development and viability of a translocated beaver (Castor fiber) population in the Netherlands, Biol. Cons. 75:125–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nolet, B. A., and Rosell, F., 1994, Territoriality and time budgets in Beavers during sequential settlement, Can. J. Zool. 72:1227–1237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nolet, B. A., and Rosell, F., 1998, Comeback of the beaver Castor fiber: An overview of old and new conservation problems. Biol. Cons. 83:165–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ouderaa, A., van der., Fey, D., Stelt, J., van der, Zadelhoff, F.J., van der, 1985, Bevertochten, verslag van twee studiereizen in, 1984, Inspectie Natuurbehaoud Rapport Number, 1985–2, Staatsbosbeheer, Utrecht. [In Dutch, with English summary].

    Google Scholar 

  • Perkins, S., 1998, An investigation into the ecological feasibility of reintroducing the European beaver (Castor fiber) into the Norfolk Broads. Unpub. report to The International Trust for Nature Conservation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rackham, O., 1986, The history of the countryside, J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd., London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Romasov, B. V., 1992, Krankheiten der Biber, in: Proceedings of the 2 International Symposium on Semiaquatic Mammals, (Schröpfer, R., Stubber, M., and Heidecke, D., eds.), pp.130–140, Martin-Luther-Universität, Halle/Saale, Germany.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rushton, S. P., Lurz, P. W. W., Fuller, R., and Garson, P. J., 1997, Modelling the distribution of the red and grey squirrel at the landscape scale: a combined GIS and population dynamics approach. J. Appl. Ecol. 34:1137–1154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sage, B., 1981, The Beaver reintroduction project, Discussion Papers in Conservation, University College London 30:46–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarrazin, F., and Barbault, R., 1996, Reintroduction - challenges and lessons for basic ecology, TREE 11: 474–478. SBB, 1983, Beavers in Nederland?, Staatsbosbeheer, Utrecht.

    Google Scholar 

  • SNH, 1988, Reintroduction of the European beaver to Scotland. A public consultation. Scottish Natural Heritage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soule, M. E. (ed.), 1986, Conservation Biology: The science of scarcity and diversity. Sinauer, Sunderland, Mass.

    Google Scholar 

  • South, A., Rushton, S., and Macdonald, D.W., in press, Predicting the outcome of a proposed reintroduction of the European Beaver (Castor fiber) to Scotland: a comparison of two modeling approaches, Biol. Cons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Starfield, A. M., 1997, A pragmatic approach to modeling for wildlife management, J. Wildl. Man. 61:261–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stocker, G., 1985, The Beaver (Castor fiber L.) in Switzerland - Biological and ecological problems of re-estab-lishment, Swiss Federal Institute of Forestry Research Reports 242:1–149. [In German, with English sum-mary].

    Google Scholar 

  • Tattersall, F., and Macdonald, D. W., 1995, A review of the direct and indirect costs of reintroducing the European Beaver (Castor fiber) to Scotland, unpublished report to SNH, contract no. SNH/110/95/IBB, 28 April 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyurnin, B. N., 1984, Factors determining numbers of the river Beaver (Castor fiber) in the European North, Soviet J. Ecol. 14(6):337–344.

    Google Scholar 

  • UKCINC, 1979, Wildlife introductions to Great Britain: some policy implications for nature conservation, report of the United Kingdom Committee for International Nature Conservation; Working Group on Introductions.

    Google Scholar 

  • Webb, A., French, D. D., and Flitsch, A. C. C., 1997, Identification and assessment of possible beaver sites in Scotland. Scottish Natural Heritage Research, Survey and Monitorin Report No. 94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yalden, D. W., 1986, Opportunities for reintroducing British mammals, Mamm. Rev. 16(2):53–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zurowski, W., 1987, Differences in effects of the European Beaver reintroductions into lowland and mountainous tributaries of the Vistula river, Transactions of the 18th Beaver congress, Krakow.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zurowski, W., 1988, Situation of the European Beaver in the Vistula river watershed and northeast Poland, Investigations on Beavers 7:7–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zurowski, W., and Kasperczyk, B., 1986, Characteristics of European Beaver population in the Suwalki lakeland, Acta Thee. 31:311–325.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zurowski, W., and Kasperczyk, B., 1988, Effects of reintroduction of European Beaver in the lowlands of the Vistula basin, Acta Thee. 33:325–338.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK

    David W. Macdonald & Fran H. Tattersall

Authors
  1. David W. Macdonald
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Fran H. Tattersall
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Peter E. Busher

  2. Agricultural University SGGW, Warsaw, Poland

    Ryszard M. Dzięciołowski

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Macdonald, D.W., Tattersall, F.H. (1999). Beavers in Britain. In: Busher, P.E., Dzięciołowski, R.M. (eds) Beaver Protection, Management, and Utilization in Europe and North America. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4781-5_12

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4781-5_12

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-7165-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-4781-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation