Urban beavers reintroduced to London after 400 years
In an industrial corner of west London this morning there was a scene not witnessed for at least 400 years – a family of beavers starting to make themselves at home.
Their wooded pond in Perivale has changed a bit since beavers were hunted to extinction in Elizabethan times.
It’s just a few hundred yards from a 24-hour McDonald’s and surrounded by the sound of lorries thundering along the A404.
But it didn’t seem to faze the long-absent semi-aquatic mammals as they nosed their way around their new habitat.
And that’s what makes this reintroduction – a partnership between a number of local environment groups, the Beaver Trust and Ealing Council – a significant one.
It’s the first in a properly urban setting.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan helped to release the beaver family
“We’re excited to show they can have benefits in the urban landscape, not only for wildlife but for people too,” said Dr Sean McCormack, chair of the Ealing Wildlife Group.
The beavers are an adult pair, their juvenile daughter and two new – also female – kits.
‘ASBO beavers’
They’ve been brought down from Scotland from an established population in Tayside. They are what are known as “ASBO beavers” – removed from their home in Scotland because they were forcing part of a farmer’s field to flood.
One of the main arguments for their reintroduction is their role as “ecosystem engineers”.
Beavers’ appetite for woody food in the winter naturally coppices trees improving biodiversity and their dambuilding behaviour has been shown to retain rainfall and alleviate flooding.
“Over the coming years they should provide effective nature-based solutions to urban problems such as flood mitigation and improved water quality,” Dr McCormack added.
Indeed, the Costams Brook that flows through the beavers’ new habitat regularly floods the nearby junction and shopping centre.
But once the journalists filming their release move away and they’re left to explore their new home in peace, the “Ealing 5” will find they’re not really free.
A 1.8km (1.1 mile) metal fence surrounds their new habitat – much to the frustration of wildlife experts.
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Freeing beavers ‘not a priority’
The government completed a consultation on allowing beavers to be released properly into the wild two years ago.
However, the current government has stated freeing beavers is “not a priority”.
This has only added to concerns that a wider commitment to restore biodiversity in 30% of UK habitats by 2030 isn’t being taken seriously.
One amplified by the recent State of Nature report concluding, once again, the UK is one of the most nature-depleted places in Europe.
Campaign groups argue restoring habitats is about the lowest-cost way to help meet ambitious net zero targets and address increasing flooding risk as the climate warms. Even more low-cost if animals like beavers will do that work for free.
But when it comes to wildlife policies the government has been effectively, “treading water for over a year”, according to Alastair Driver, director of Rewilding Britain, “nothing’s happening, nothing substantial, [they] won’t even talk, [they] won’t even have a conversation about what might be possible.”
Defra reject that claim. A spokesman said: “We published a plan to deliver our environmental goals in January through the Environmental Improvement Plan, and will set out our progress on 30 by 30 as promised by the end of the year.”
And so far the Labour Party hasn’t clearly laid out what plans it would have for wildlife if elected.
But local projects like the one in Ealing show progress is happening anyway according to Mr Driver. And even shows how beavers can be managed.
Provided they can learn some street smarts in their new urban home – their relocation could prove how beavers might properly be returned to the wild in an England that’s very different to the one they once lived in.
Fresh appeals have been made for information on what would have been the 20th birthday of Ellis Cox, who was shot dead in Liverpool last June.
A number of people have been arrested in connection with the murder at Liver Industrial Estate, but no one has been charged yet.
The 19-year-old’s family and police have paid tribute to him and called for those with information to come forward.
He was shot in the back after a confrontation between his friends and another group of up to three males on Sunday 23 June.
Ellis Cox who was shot dead in June 2024. Pic: Merseyside Police
His mother Carolyn paid tribute in an appeal to coincide with what would have been his 20th birthday.
“He was so kind… so laid back, so calm, so mature for his age. And he was just funny. Very funny.
“He was my baby… no mum should have to bury a child. He was my life. And I don’t know what to do without him.”
Mum Carolyn Cox (left) and aunt Julie O’Toole (right) are looking for answers
Meanwhile, his aunt Julie O’Toole said he was “the sort of person I think you’d be hard pressed to find anyone to say anything negative about. He was loyal, fiercely loyal… everything was about his family”.
To pay tribute to Ellis, Liverpool City Council will be lighting up the Cunard Building and Liverpool Town Hall in orange on Saturday.
DCI Steve McGrath does not believe Ellis was involved in criminality
Detective Chief Inspector Steve McGrath, the senior investigating officer, spoke about the information gathered so far, six months on from Mr Cox’s murder.
“I’m satisfied that the group that he was with was probably the target… and I would say that’s got something in relation to do with localised drug dealing in that area. But Ellis had no involvement in that whatsoever,” he said.
He added that police are looking for “really significant pieces of evidence now”, including “trying to recover the firearm that was used in relation to this, looking to recover the bikes that were used by the offenders”.
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Mrs Cox also appealed for people to come forward with information.
“If you know anything, don’t let us get to [his] next birthday and still know nothing.
“We need to get justice for Ellis. And we need to get the people who took him from us off the streets.”
UK
Reward of £20,000 offered to identify parents of three siblings abandoned as babies over eight years
A £20,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the identification of the parents of three siblings found abandoned in London over eight years.
The Metropolitan Police said that despite more than 450 hours of CCTV being reviewed, the parents of the three children, known as Elsa, Roman and Harry, remain unidentified.
However, it is believed their mother has lived in an area of east London “over the past six years”.
Elsa was believed to be less than an hour old when she was found by a dog walker on 18 January last year, in East Ham, east London.
In the months that followed it was found that she had two siblings who were also abandoned in similar circumstances, in the same area of London, in 2017 and 2019.
On Saturday, police said the independent group Crimestoppers had offered a £20,000 reward for information passed to the charity, which will expire on 18 April.
Detective Inspector Jamie Humm, of the Met’s child abuse investigation team, said: “We have carried out extensive inquiries over the past year to try and locate Elsa’s parents.
Baby Roman. Pic: Met Police/PA
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“This has involved reviewing over 450 hours of CCTV and completing a full DNA structure of the mother.
“We have serious concerns for the wellbeing of the parents, especially the mother, and are continuing to work closely with Newham Council and appeal for the public’s help for information.
“I believe that someone in the area will have been aware of the mother’s pregnancies and that within the community there may be (or) have been concerns for this mother’s welfare.
“Thanks to the DNA work of forensic colleagues, police will be able to eliminate any unconnected person quickly and easily, as such I would ask you to contact police with confidence.”
The baby was found at the junction of Greenway and High Street South in Newham. Pic: PA
Elsa was found wrapped in a towel in a reusable shopping bag, of which police have also released a new image, and was kept warm by the dog walker. She was uninjured.
Police said at the time that it was “highly likely” that she was born after a “concealed pregnancy”.
The Boots bag in which Baby Elsa was found abandoned by a dog walker in Newham on 18 January 2024. Pic: Met Police/PA
The BBC reported that at an initial court hearing, East London Family Court was told it took doctors three hours to record Elsa’s temperature because of the cold, and the Met Office said that temperatures dropped to as low as -4C on the night she was found.
Hospital staff named her Elsa in a reference to the character from the film Frozen.
The police investigation into the identity of the children’s parents continues, and anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or post @MetCC ref Operation Wolcott.
People can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously at any time on 0800 555 111 or via Crimestoppers-uk.org.
Fresh appeals have been made for information on what would have been the 20th birthday of Ellis Cox, who was shot dead in Liverpool last June.
A number of people have been arrested in connection with the murder at Liver Industrial Estate, but no one has been charged yet.
The 19-year-old’s family and police have paid tribute to him and called for those with information to come forward.
He was shot in the back after a confrontation between his friends and another group of up to three males on Sunday 23 June.
Ellis Cox who was shot dead in June 2024. Pic: Merseyside Police
His mother Carolyn paid tribute in an appeal to coincide with what would have been his 20th birthday.
“He was so kind… so laid back, so calm, so mature for his age. And he was just funny. Very funny.
“He was my baby… no mum should have to bury a child. He was my life. And I don’t know what to do without him.”
Mum Carolyn Cox (left) and aunt Julie O’Toole (right) are looking for answers
Ellis’ mum described him as ‘kind” and “funny. Pic: Merseyside Police
Meanwhile, his aunt Julie O’Toole said he was “the sort of person I think you’d be hard pressed to find anyone to say anything negative about. He was loyal, fiercely loyal… everything was about his family”.
To pay tribute to Ellis, Liverpool City Council will be lighting up the Cunard Building and Liverpool Town Hall in orange on Saturday.
DCI Steve McGrath does not believe Ellis was involved in criminality
Detective Chief Inspector Steve McGrath, the senior investigating officer, spoke about the information gathered so far, six months on from Mr Cox’s murder.
“I’m satisfied that the group that he was with was probably the target… and I would say that’s got something in relation to do with localised drug dealing in that area. But Ellis had no involvement in that whatsoever,” he said.
He added that police are looking for “really significant pieces of evidence now”, including “trying to recover the firearm that was used in relation to this, looking to recover the bikes that were used by the offenders”.
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Mrs Cox also appealed for people to come forward with information.
“If you know anything, don’t let us get to [his] next birthday and still know nothing.
“We need to get justice for Ellis. And we need to get the people who took him from us off the streets.”
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