Beavers to return to Loch Ness for the first time in nearly 500 years

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Loch Ness is about to welcome a new kind of resident. Good News Network reports that NatureScot has licensed Trees for Life and the Beaver Trust to release up to 15 beaver families over three years into the River Ness catchment, which includes Loch Ness

The licence was granted on 30 October, and releases could begin within weeks. Beavers were last recorded in the Loch Ness area in 1526 and 1527, and the species was reintroduced to Scotland in 2009

Most of the beavers will be moved from Scottish sites where they have been damaging farmland, giving them a new home where they can do more good

More than 73 percent of people consulted supported the plan. Robbie Kernahan, NatureScot's director for wildlife management, said beavers can bring many benefits for nature and people, including creating ponds and wetlands and helping to even out floods and droughts

Bringing beavers back after nearly 500 years is a lovely conservation story, and moving them from farms where they cause problems is a sensible solution. Their dams create habitats for many other species. Loch Ness may finally have a monster that people can spot

Do you support beaver reintroductions? And which other lost animals should return to Britain?

Loch Ness Is About to Welcome a New Monster Not Seen There in 500 Years-the Beaver!www.goodnewsnetwork.org