Beavering about..

[Buanán]

Not even the current  S.G. is idiotic enough to allow wolves to run free in Scotland. It's a good newspaper story for a slow Sunday, but that's all it is. It's not going to happen.

And previous governments were silly enough to reintroduce kites and sea eagles, all bound to have an negative impact on fragile remote rural communities, right. Not the case, those self same fragile remote communities lucky enough to have the sea eagle, in particular, are doing alright with the up turn in eco trade, people coming to see the sea eagle are having a positive economic impact.

The wolf would make a fine addition.

[Wildfisher]

Sea eagles don't eat people.  :lol:

Yes I know wolves don't either, but nice as it might be in principle there won't be any wolves running free in Scotland, I'd put money on it but don't imagine William Hill is offering worthwhile odds. There is a hell of a difference between sea eagles, red kites and wolves. But you know this. 

[corsican dave]

the howl of a wolf would definitely add a certain frisson to a remote camp  :

[Wildfisher]

It would indeed, but it would be drowned out by the howls of the farmers whose sheep  were being taken, gnashing of teeth in Hollyrood and heated conversations that went something like .....

Alex Salmond:   "F.F.S.  MacKaskill, did nobody tell you  sheep were  easier to catch than deer"
Kenny Macaskill:   "It's your fault for pitting me in that joab Alex, you ken fine snaw on roads air guns and corroboration are my areas of expertise"

[Buanán]

Now then, yesterday I took a pal to see the sea eagles in Kylerae, Donny on the ferry told me, "I'll be here at 4 boy, when the tide turns and the seals and gulls start fishing". Of course he was wrong wrong wrong, it didn't show up until 4.11.

11mins late but, turn up it did and much to the delight of my pal and the 5 or 6 tourists that had turned up, to see the bugger beat up black back marauding gulls.

Donny's enthusiasm for the "big black bastards", as the sea eagles are fondly known, around the west here  :lol:, is due in no small part to the birds  new status: as prized local economic asset.

Every car load of folks that turn up to see the birds and cross the ferry is £15 to the local community owned and run ferry company, and possibly a customer for other local product. That kind of low impact foot fall is not to be sniffed at in a fragile remote rural community like gelnelg. 

30 years back Donny and the Glenelg crofters lost a lot of lambs to the then rouge golden eagle, well recorded at the time. If you'd said to these people back then that they'd one day value the eagle, they'd have sent you packing, and more than likely, with a thick ear for your trouble.

Ding dong dollar, the eagle is now welcome and valued. Donny was also saying they'd had an Osprey fishing in the narrows 30mins before we'd shown up.

In my opinion, the wolf wouldn't be welcomed initially but the communities who'd benefit from the wolf's presence would perhaps rethink their opinion, when the cash starts flowing.

The wolf is back across mainland europe, and they seem to be surviving. 

[Wildfisher]

This wolf business was featured this evening on The Font Of All Knowledge Radio Scotland. They had some guy from a resident's group or something, didn't catch that, up in Sutherland,   who as  you might expect was against and a bloke from the John Muir Trust. After 5 minutes of the usual predictable stuff even the John Muir guy conceded it was not going to happen in his lifetime. This stuff comes up regularly  when there is not much else happening news wise.

I'd like to see wolves back, but considering the furore and shambles over few beavers it's just not something any of our worthless self serving politicians is going to sanction. Wolves are an all together different proposition from birds of prey.

[Darwin]

Our public broadcasting (PBS) had a nature show on TV last night all about beavers.  They showed where they are pest in Canada and heros in Nevada.  They introduced beavers into near desert country and the beavers slowly turned a ditch into a green oasis.  One of the points was that the beaver digs the pond down to 5 or so feet deep and it ensures a year round water supply for native animals. This increased the carrying capacity for the area and helped to increase animal populations.  "It depends..." seems to be the answer.

[Part-time]

I'd love to see wolves, lynx and all the rest reintroduced. It will probably never happen though as there are too many differing interests that will never agree but in theory I don't see any reason why not. Yes they would eat livestock but even the worst case scenario the compensation would  be peanuts if taken out of the EU farming subsidies budget. If they spread out of their ideal range into other areas where they cause problems make it legal to control them which is what happens in Sweden. They seem to be coping with wolves in western Europe without any public safety problems - I'd bet more people would drown in beaver dams than get eaten by wolves if they were reintroduced

I've no problem with beavers becoming established in the wild so long as they can be controlled in circumstances where they are causing problems - beavers seem to have the same (lack of) legal status as boar at present; its well established that boar can be legally shot with an appropriate firearm and very likely that the same applies to beavers.

[Part-time]

Have you seen the mess commercial forestry makes and you're bothered about a few beavers?

A wee bit of a sweeping statement

I don't think many in forestry would deny that clearfelling can be visually messy (it shouldn't be environmentally messy these days) but it has the potential to improve a forest in the long term in many ways. I'm all for beavers in the wild but it needs to be recognised that although they can be beneficial in many ways they also have the potential to cause harm in some circumstances, a bit like forestry, aquaculture and other industries do.

[Billy]

Not made up my mind about beavers being introduces and I have yet to come across one.

Wolves are another matter although its just been an article in a paper up to now.
A few years ago I worked in Khazakstan and was out in the middle of nowhere one day looking for a pipeline which carried the main water supply across the tundra. We were tying into it for a new camp or what eventually turned out to be a medium sized community.
While I was out checking the area I caught something out of the corner of my eye.

It was a wolf on the brow of the hill just watching me. It was not too far away but it was the biggest feckin 'dog' I have ever seen in my life and it was not in the least bit wary of me. It just stood its ground watching me.

I did what I had to do for the survey and got into the jeep and drove away fairly sharpish. These things probably survive most of the time just eating the prairie dogs as they are all over the place so plenty of eating and I suppose attacks on people are as rare as hens teeth but you never know.

Do I want to come across one of these when I am on my own walking across the Scourie hills on a wee fishin trip? I seem to remember they hunt in packs as well.

No way.

Lets just leave it at the beavers they just splash their tails at you if you get too close.

Billy