BEAVERS reintroduced to the wild in a project to bring back the species in Scotland are devouring an "uncommon" plant, according to a new report.
The Scottish Beaver Trial, launched in 2009, has seen the native animals settle back in to Scottish life more than four centuries after they were hunted to extinction. Knapdale Forest, Mid-Argyll, is now home to more than 16 beavers, with names including Frid, Frank, Katrina, Millie and Trude.
Reports commissioned by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) reveal the animals are gnawing and felling trees near their lodges.
But they have also developed a "particular preference" for Cladium mariscus, or great fen-sedge.
The perennial, which can grow up to 9ft tall, was only found in five Knapdale lochs, all of which were occupied by beavers, which have munched through 83 per cent of the stock. The animals even abandoned lochs where it did not exist.
The report, compiled by the University of Stirling, reads: "This species was heavily grazed by beavers wherever it occurred.
"In overall terms, the standing stock of C mariscus in the Knapdale lochs decreased by 83 per cent.
"Only one other species, S lacustris in Loch Linne, experienced beaver-induced declines on a similar scale."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article