Scottish Beaver?

Scotland is set to reintroduce the European beaver into the wild in 2009. The animal was extirpated from Scotland more than 400 years ago. The new beavers (species name Castor fiber) are being brought in from Norway and are, for all practical purposes, identical to American beaver (Castor canadensis) though they cannot interbreed due to some chromosome differences. The beaver are expected to be released around five lochs in Argyll in the Spring of 2009 after a six-month period of quarantine. In October of 2005, six beavers were re-introduced to Britain in Lower Mill Estate in Gloucestershire, and in July of 2007 a colony of four was established at Martin Mere in Lancashire. For more information on Scottish beaver reintroduction plans, see >> http://www.scotsbeavers.org/
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