Two things that have been occupying Field Day readers’ minds recently are the more peculiar uses of natural products (bull semen as a hair treatment, for example) and the merits of introducing non-native species - or reintroducing once-native critters - to Britain.
I’ve discovered an animal that combines the two. Beavers.
They have been absent from the British Isles for centuries – but a small number of European ones were introduced to Lower Mill Estate in Gloucestershire two years ago. It was a controversial move so it hit the headlines at the time – and now they’ve bred! They've even become tv stars.
The six - which were named Tony, Cherie, Gordon, Sarah, John and Pauline after the politicians and their wives - were released into an enclosed reserve in the Cotswolds by Jeremy Paxton.
As for where the peculiar uses of natural products bit comes in? Well, one of the reason beaver were hunted – as well as, of course, for its bushy fur – was for the extraordinary pain-relieving properties of its anal gland secretions.
You can't help but wonder how on earth that was first discovered!
I quite often like to watch beaver(s) on Tv.
Now that's a creature I'd like to see scuttling about.
Hi Mopsa,
Stunning to look at, aren't they... There was lots of controversy when they were first brought into the country a couple of years ago about the possible damage they could do, though. But the guy who did it said they're "charming and well mannered". If you're interested in reading a statement at the time, you can see it here:
http://www.borkowski.co.uk/archives/press/003632.html
Tim