Latest news with #beaver
Forbes
13-05-2025
- Science
- Forbes
An Unlikely Climate Hero Is Making A Comeback
A beaver swims back to its lodge underneath the frozen surface of a creek in Bozeman, Montana. ... More Beavers don't hibernate, so they spend the entire fall stockpiling wood underwater to feed through the winter. (Photo by Ronan Donovan) The most remarkable image in National Geographic's upcoming feature isn't what you might expect. It's not a lion on the savannah or a polar bear on retreating ice. It's a beaver—swimming beneath a frozen pond. A single shot, years in the making, quietly captures one of the most important comeback stories in North American ecology. To get it, photographer Ronan Donovan and photo engineer Tom O'Brien had to build a custom underwater camera rig, designed to function beneath ice in shallow, silty water. 'Shooting underwater is hard enough,' said O'Brien. 'Shooting under the ice is even harder. Ronan had to photograph beavers in their habitat, near their dens, which raised so many issues—from silt being disturbed to keeping all the equipment powered for long periods in freezing temperatures. Everything had to be robust, waterproof, and reconfigurable.' The result: a breathtaking view few humans have ever seen—and a visual symbol of a species that may hold the key to environmental resilience. Beavers were once everywhere across North America. Then came the fur trade. Hunted nearly to extinction for their pelts, they were later branded a nuisance for flooding farmland and chewing through timber. By the early 20th century, their numbers had dropped dramatically. But today, they're back—10 to 15 million of them, according to recent estimates. And now, they're being recognized not as pests, but as partners in ecological repair. Beavers build dams. That much is well known. But those dams do more than create ponds. They slow the flow of water, reduce erosion, and replenish groundwater. They create habitats for fish, amphibians, birds, and other mammals. They reshape entire ecosystems, often in ways that benefit humans too. One of the most compelling aspects of the beaver resurgence is their growing role in wildfire resilience. Emily Fairfax, an ecohydrologist now at the University of Minnesota, has studied how landscapes influenced by beaver activity behave during wildfires. Her peer-reviewed study, 'Smokey the Beaver,' published in Ecological Applications in 2020, found that beaver ponds and canals help irrigate the land, transforming typically flammable terrain into green, moist zones that resist ignition. Fairfax's research examined satellite data across multiple fire events in the western United States from 2000 to 2018. The evidence suggested that areas shaped by beaver engineering consistently stayed greener and cooler during wildfires, providing natural refuge for wildlife and livestock. These findings were tested further during the 2020 East Troublesome Fire in Colorado—one of the largest in the state's history. When Fairfax later surveyed the scorched region, she observed that the lush corridors maintained by beaver dams had endured even as surrounding forests were decimated. These wetland pockets didn't just survive—they actively helped mitigate the impact of megafires fueled by climate change. Her work illustrates a growing understanding in the scientific community: the way beavers manage water and shape vegetation isn't just ecologically valuable—it could be essential in an era of more extreme and frequent wildfires. Beavers feed on the bark of small branches in the East Gallatin River in Bozeman. (Photo by Ronan ... More Donovan) As climate change reshapes the landscape, beavers are adapting—and helping us adapt in return. In the American West, where snowpack levels are dropping, beaver dams hold water in the landscape longer. They mimic the function of natural reservoirs, easing the impact of drought. A growing number of states are investing in beaver restoration programs, seeing the species as a low-cost, high-impact solution to water scarcity and ecosystem degradation. In Alaska and Canada, beavers are pushing north, moving into tundra regions where warmer temperatures have made new territory accessible. While their expansion into the Arctic brings new ecological questions, it also shows their remarkable resilience. And in cities like New York, they're even staging urban comebacks. Beavers have recolonized parts of the Bronx River and Staten Island, building dams and carving wetlands in places once written off as lost to development. Technology is now helping us see the full impact of these animals—literally. Satellite imagery is being used to map beaver activity across landscapes, tracking how their dam-building behavior shapes the flow of rivers and the spread of vegetation. This kind of data is helping scientists understand how wildlife can support climate adaptation at scale. That brings us back to Donovan's image. It's more than a technical feat. It's a visual cue that reminds us to look deeper—beneath the ice, beneath the surface of conventional narratives. There's a quiet power in this photo. It captures a moment, but it also captures a movement—one that's been building for decades and now finds its place in a warming, fire-prone world. Beavers aren't a silver bullet. But their return shows what's possible when we work with nature instead of against it. Their dams are blueprints for resilience. As fire seasons lengthen and water becomes more precious, it's worth asking: What if the best solutions aren't always new? What if, sometimes, the answer is a tail-slap in a frozen pond? Nat Geo's beaver feature—headlined by Donovan's rare under-ice photo—reminds us that sometimes environmental allies are hiding in plain sight. The full piece debuts in the June 2025 issue. Keep an eye out for the image. But more importantly, keep an eye out for the beavers.
BBC News
06-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Video shows 'very chill' wild beaver after 400-year absence
A wild beaver has been filmed on a river in Wales in what has been described as a "hugely significant" sighting. Beavers disappeared from Britain about 400 years ago after being hunted to extinction, but in the past two decades they have been making a comeback. Naturalist and presenter Iolo Williams, who encountered the wild beaver on the River Dyfi near Machynlleth, said the clear and prolonged sighting was one of the "very, very best" things he had ever witnessed. There are four managed enclosures that house beavers in Wales, and an unknown number living in the wild. "I've seen some incredible wildlife in Wales, some amazing things, but this ranks up there, not just with the best, but as the very, very best," said Williams, who captured the moment as part of his BBC series Iolo's River Valleys. "The last people to see wild beaver in Wales would have been the Welsh princes, who would have hunted them. "So they've been absent for hundreds of years. So it's hugely significant." In Wales, it is an offence to release beavers into open rivers without a licence, and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said no licences of this type had been issued. In England, where the government recently approved beavers' reintroduction to the wild, it is thought that there are about 500 of them - some in the wild and others in enclosures. In Scotland, which began reintroducing beavers to the wild several years ago, it is thought that there are now more than 1,500. "We had information that a beaver had been seen on this section of the River Dyfi, and we were told to get to this particular site at 18:00 and the beaver will be there," said Williams. "We had gone out a few days before, and it poured with rain and we'd seen nothing. "And I must admit, I was thinking, we're not going to get it. "But then when we went on the first dry day, 18:00, and the beaver was there." Williams said the beaver "didn't pay us any attention at all". "It was very chill," he added. "We were on the opposite bank, and we thought we better be quiet, don't move around. And the beaver just saw us and it just carried on feeding and swam." Local people have reported seeing the beaver, and others, on the same stretch of the River Dyfi multiple times in recent years. But exactly where they have come from remains a mystery, after a nearby beaver enclosure ruled out any escapes. Beaver family Alicia Leow-Dyke, from Wildlife Trust Wales, said there was evidence of the semi-aquatic animals breeding along the waterway. "On this occasion we know it's one family. It could be two families - one family split into two," she said. "There has been evidence of breeding on the river. Youngsters have been spotted on the river over the years. "Beavers only breed once a year and their litters are pretty small - two to three within a litter. So a beaver family could be anything from two adults, to five or eight if you include the young." Last year the Welsh government said it was considering introducing legislation to protect beavers, as wildlife charities called for them to be released into Wales' rivers. Dr Robert Needham, from the Beaver Trust, said their reintroduction could bring substantial benefits, describing them as "ecosystem engineer[s]". "What this means is that the sort of habitat modification that beavers can do through damming, building lodges, digging canals - this can create habitats for other species, and they can increase biodiversity," said Dr Needham. "They can help restore our wetland habitats, which are massively lost throughout Europe, let alone Great Britain. "They can help alleviate flooding with the dams that they create, particularly in headwater streams, they hold that water back, releasing it slowly. So we see a reduction in peak flow events, during storm events. But this can also be really beneficial to villages and society during summer periods, during drought conditions." But not everyone believes that reintroducing beavers to the wild is a good thing. Critics say their dams can flood and waterlog fields while the animals themselves can feed on certain agricultural crops and damage trees. "Fundamentally, there are issues. There are cases where river banks will fall in and the impact of flooding, particularly on good farmland as well," said Aled Jones, president of NFU Cymru. "The management [of beavers] is crucial. We can't allow an indiscriminate approach where farming businesses are severely impacted. "So we have to have control measures because this is their livelihoods. And we have to remember this is where farmers make their living, and anything negatively impacting that, if they're losing their crops because of flooding, who pays?" Iolo's River Valleys will be broadcast on BBC Two and BBC One Wales on 6 May at 19:00 and will also be available on BBC iPlayer. Sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter highlighting uplifting stories and remarkable people from around the world.
The Independent
06-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
‘Very chill' wild beaver filmed on river after return of species to UK after 400 years
A wild beaver has been filmed on a river in Wales after the species became extinct in Britain about 400 years ago. The semiaquatic rodent was previously hunted to extinction, but has made a comeback over the past two decades. There are four managed enclosures for beavers in Wales, but it remains unknown how many live in the wild at the moment. Naturalist Iolo Williams encountered the wild beaver on the River Dyfi, near Machynlleth. He told the BBC: 'I've seen some incredible wildlife in Wales, some amazing things, but this ranks up there, not just with the best, but as the very, very best. 'The last people to see wild beavers in Wales would have been the Welsh princes, who would have hunted them. So they've been absent for hundreds of years. It's hugely significant.' Mr Williams first saw the beaver while he was filming his BBC series Iolo's River Valleys. He said the animal 'didn't pay us any attention at all'. "It was very chill," he said. 'We were on the opposite bank, and we thought we better be quiet, don't move around. And the beaver just saw us and it just carried on feeding and swam.' Mr Williams said the beaver "didn't pay us any attention at all". Locals say they have spotted beavers along that same stretch of the River Dyfi in recent years, but where they come from has remained a mystery after a nearby beaver enclosure ruled out any escapes. The North Wales Wildlife Trust has been working on its Welsh Beaver Project since 2005 in a mission to return the animal back to the wild. While once widespread across Wales, beavers were hunted for their fur, meat and scent glands. The trust said beavers are 'very special' because they 'play a vital role in enriching biodiversity by restoring and managing river and wetland ecosystems'. 'They are known as a 'keystone species' because their activities can benefit a wide range of other animals and plants that live in rivers and wetlands,' it added. It is an offence in Wales to release beavers into open rivers without a licence, and Natural Resources Wales told the BBC that no licences of this type have been issued currently. England recently approved the reintroduction of beavers into the wild, and there are said to be about 500 of them in the wilderness and in enclosures. Meanwhile, there are thought to be more than 1,500 beavers in Scotland after they were reintroduced to the wild several years ago.
