Wildlife: Beavers set to be reintroduced to London

Beavers are known for their roles as engineers and their reintroduction will come with benefits for wildlife

Beavers are going to be released in London as part of a rewilding project.

The native species will be brought to a site in Tottenham where there is lots of marshland for them to thrive on.

The project has been recognised as the most significant rewilding project of beavers to have taken place in the UK. That is due to the positive impact the project will have on other animals and plants.

Ben Goldsmith, who works for the government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: "We must have beavers back, living free outside of fenced enclosures, in all of Britain's river systems including in our capital city."

Beavers build dams which are made up of wood from trees

Beavers are native to the UK, but in previous centuries they had been hunted to near extinction for their fur and meat.

A recent study backed by the government acknowledged the benefit beavers have on the wildlife around them, due to their roles as engineers.

Beavers are known for taking wood and building dams, where they hold up a lot of water - this can protect downriver land from flooding and reduces silt, improving the quality of water that does go through the dams.

Another benefit to the beavers' dams is the large wetlands that are created as a result, and this environment is very beneficial to the wildlife and plants that live there.

The species has already been reintroduced in Scotland and found that because of the beavers' building work, there had been an increase in fish and invertebrates in the area.