June 4, 2025 • 29 mins
This week’s Wildlife Matters Podcast centres around the poignant issue of badger culling as we explore the alarming 2024 cull figures released by the Badger Trust and Wild Justice, which reveal a tragic loss of 10,769 badgers due to mismanagement by Natural England and DEFRA. This disconcerting development highlights the urgent need for accountability and the protection of our wildlife. In a contrasting yet equally captivating segment, we recount a mesmerising encounter with wild beavers in the West Country. This experience evoked both awe and wonder as we observed these remarkable creatures in their natural habitat. Additionally, we delve into the successful petition to end the confinement of caged animals in the UK, alongside the upcoming Churches Count on Nature initiative, which encourages community involvement in citizen science. Join us as we explore these pressing topics and cultivate a deeper appreciation for the wildlife that surrounds us.
Hello and welcome to this week’s Wildlife Matters Podcast
Here we are at the end of May, with summer fast approaching. After many weeks of warm sunshine in the UK, there has been a brief respite for most wildlife and plants, with some rain in most areas.
This is vital, as many species, such as badgers with cubs, have struggled to dig into the sun-baked soil to find earthworms, and birds with youngsters in the nest have struggled to find insects and caterpillars, which have been emerging in much lower numbers this year.
This week’s Wildlife Matters main feature is an incredible night we spent with wild beavers in the West Country.
It was the first time I had seen a wild beaver in its natural habitat, and I was frozen to the spot as the Beaver went about its business of an early evening swim. This is a captivating story which we are sure you won’t want to miss.
And we will spend precious time in tune with nature in this week’s Wildlife Matters Mindful Moments.
But before that, in this week’s Wildlife Matters Nature News, we are talking about the badger culls as Badger Trust and Wild Justice release the 2024 cull figures in the first of a series of exposés of the failings of Natural England and DEFRA.
We hear about a successful petition to end caged animals in the UK and the return of the Church graveyard Citizen Science week, Churches Count on Nature, and that is coming up next on this week’s Wildlife Matters Nature news.
Takeaways:
- The recent rainfall across the UK has provided crucial relief to wildlife and plants, particularly benefiting species such as badgers and birds.
- In the Wildlife Matters main feature, we recount a mesmerising encounter
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:26):
Hello and welcome to thisweek's Wildlife Matters podcast.
Well, here we are at the endof May, with summer fast approaching,
and after many weeks of warmsunshine here in the uk, there has
been a brief respite for mostwildlife and plants, with some rain
in most areas.
(00:46):
This is vital as many species, such.
As badgers with cubs, havestruggled to dig into the sunbaked
soil to find.
The earthworms that they need.
And birds with youngsters inthe nest have struggled to find the
insects and caterpillars whichhave been emerging in much lower
numbers this year.
(01:07):
This week's Wildlife Mattersmain feature is an incredible night
we spent with wild beavers inthe West Country.
It was the first time I'd seena wild beaver in its natural habitat
and I was frozen to the spotas the beaver went about its business
of an early evening swim.
(01:28):
This is a captivating storywhich we are sure you will not want
to miss and we will spendprecious time in nature in this week's
Wildlife Matters mindful moments.
But before that, in thisweek's Wildlife Matters Nature News.
We are talking about thebadger culture as Badger Trust and
(01:52):
Wild justice have released the2024 coal figures in the first of
a series of exposes of thefailings of Natural England and Defra.
And we'll hear about asuccessful government petition to
end caged animals in the UKand the return of the church graveyard.
(02:15):
Citizen Science Week calledChurches Count on Nature.
And that is coming up next onthis week's Wildlife Matters Nature
News.
(02:44):
Hello and welcome to this weekweek's Wildlife Matters Nature News,
where we begin with a shockingexpose by Badger Trust and Wild justice
who have released the badgercult figures from the 2024 Coles,
something that the governmentusually does.
But they have been silentfollowing their ongoing court case
(03:10):
which is due to.
Be held in the autumn.
Badger Trust and Wild justicereleased this figures showing that
10, 769 badgers were killed inthe 2024 cold where the licenses
were issued incorrectly.
That's a tragic and shockingwaste of life.
(03:32):
And all because NaturalEngland's relationship with DEFRA
and farmers was thought to bemore important than the lives of
of 10,000 badgers.
That is not a valid reason tokill a protected species.
Their press release continues.
(03:52):
By now we would have expectedto have had a carefully crafted statement
from the chief vet touting thesupposed success of the culls and
disclosing the number ofbadgers they killed during this 2024
culture.
There has been complete radio silence.
Are they busy working on howto explain it perhaps.
(04:16):
Well, they claim there areother delays too, because typically
in early May, Natural.
England announces the latestbadger color licenses.
Issued for the supplementarycoal areas that become effective
from 1 June.
However, as of 30 May May,there has been no announcement, only
(04:38):
more silence.
Their press release continues.
Badger groups throughoutEngland will be vigilant this Sunday
monitoring their local sets,but they face uncertainty.
Will the paid shooters arrive?
Will the police intervene orwill nothing happen at all?
(05:00):
The Labour government isfailing to protect a protected species
and showing a cavalierdisregard for the law and the facts.
Natural England under Labouris not safeguarding badgers.
Instead, they seem moreconcerned about maintaining their
relationship with farmers.
(05:21):
The public must be vigilant.
In the absence ofnotifications regarding licensed
coals, shooting badgers mayconstitute illegal persecution and
could be considered a crimeSecretary of State, it's time for
the Labour Party to takeresponsibility and address the chaotic
(05:42):
management within your department.
The phrase it's how governmentworks is not an acceptable excuse.
Your party is now in power andthey end their press release by addressing
Secretary of State staff SteveReed directly saying the time for
transparency is now.
Stop defending the failures ofyour predecessors and end the badger
(06:07):
cold now.
Wildlife Matters wishes theBadger Trust and Wild justice every
success with their court caseand you can help support them by
contributing to theircrowdfunder legal costs.
You will find more informationon the Badger Trust website and I
(06:29):
will leave a link to that andthe crowdfunder in the show.
Notes Our second story isabout a parliamentary debate that
has been scheduled after apetition against caged animals reached
103,000 signatures.
A petition advocating for aban on the use of cages and crates
(06:51):
for farmed animals has nowgone over 103,000 signatures, prompting
a parliamentary debate in theHouse of Commons.
The Compassion in WorldFarming petition calls on the government
to prohibit the use of cagesand crates for laying hens, other
birds and sows, as well as aban to individual calf pens.
(07:15):
A debate regarding theposition is now set to take place
on 16 June.
In response to the petition,the government has stated this government
was elected with a mandate toimplement the most ambitious.
Plans to improve animalwelfare in a generation.
We are currently consideringthe issue of cage and crate usage
(07:39):
very carefully.
Wildlife Matters would like tosay thanks to to everyone who has
signed that petition and wewill keep you updated after the debate.
Our third story this week isthat the Church a graveyard nature
study is set to continue thisyear with churches across the UK
(08:01):
preparing for the church'saccount on Nature Week 2025.
Running from June 7 throughthrough to June 15, the event invites
local communities to engage incitizen science by recording the
diverse plants and animalsfound in their local churchyards.
(08:24):
Last year over 540 events tookplace, resulting in more than 17,000
observations and thedocumentation of more than 1700 different
species.
This year there will be aspecial focus on swifts and Edward
(08:45):
Mayer from Swift Conservationsaid nothing but nothing flies like
a swift.
These charismatic birdspresence at your church shows everyone
that the biodiversity there isin good hands.
Participants are encouraged toidentify small swift nest sites,
organize evening swift eventsand use the Swift Mapper app to record
(09:11):
their nesting locations.
The Most Reverend Andrew John,the Archbishop of Wales, emphasized
the importance of involvement,stating, we all have a shared responsibility
to look after our world andthe creatures living in it.
We will leave a link to thatin our show notes and if any of this
(09:33):
week's stories have sparkedyour interest, then please do share
your thoughts and comments onour social media posts or by leaving
a comment wherever you getyour podcasts because your feedback
helps other nature loversdiscover this podcast that was this
(09:54):
week's Wildlife Matters NatureNew it's evident that politics have
(10:18):
been the driving force behindthe badger culls and Bovine TB is
pretty primarily transmittedthrough cattle with 95% of known
transmission occurring fromcattle to cattle.
In Wales there is a proactiveapproach to testing for and eradicating
the disease whilst supportingfarmers and without resorting to
(10:43):
culling badgers.
This strategy was advocated bySaveMe Trust's Ann Brummer, vet Dick
Sibley and Sir Brian May intheir groundbreaking BBC documentary
which shared their experiencewith bovine tv.
If you haven't seen it, it isstill available on the BBC iPlayer.
(11:06):
It's time for England to stopkilling badgers and address the real
issue which is Bovine TV engine.
The vaccine and testingtechnology are already available,
but is there the politicalwill to implement them?
In this week's WildlifeMatters mindful moments, we make
(11:29):
time to appreciate a veryspecial native animal as it enjoys
its evening meal recorded atnight in a very special wild place.
Sit back, relax and enjoy asound that most people in the UK
will not have heard before.
(13:18):
I could hear the wood beingstripped from the tree and I could
only equate it to the sound ofa razor sharp chisel edge.
As someone far more skilledthan I.
Delicately chiseled away at asculpture, the rhythmic scraping
sound was mesmerizing as I satwith the camera focused on this one
(13:41):
point I'd hoped to see thisand it was everything that I had
imagined.
We do hope you enjoyed thesound of a beaver as it was feasted
on a felled willow tree inthis week's Wildlife Matters Mindful
moments and stay with us as wetake you on a journey to discover
(14:05):
a native wild animal in thedepths of the west country on what
was a magical and captivatingexperience as we take you in search
of wild beavers on this week's.
Wildlife Matters main feature.
(14:36):
Hello and welcome to thisweek's Wildlife Matters main feature
and to a story I've been soexcited to share with you because
finally the day had arrived.
After two postponements due tothe heavy and continuous rainfall
that had swollen the riversand flooded the banks.
(14:56):
I was packed and I was readyfor a long day and night.
Watching beavers, just sayingthese words still feels a little
strange, but it was.
A fact that I was off to.
See wild beavers living intheir natural.
Habitat in the uk.
I've known about this locationfor some time now and followed the
(15:19):
project with much interest,but for some inexplicable reason,
I had not been here to seethings for myself.
There are planned trips herethroughout the year where local rangers
or volunteers will take you tothe most likely of several places
that the beavers could appear.
And most times they do get it right.
(15:40):
I recommended the toursorganized by Devon Wildlife Trust.
I was fortunate to be guidedby a wildlife photographer who knows
the area.
And the local beavers very well.
We've arrived at the chosensite for the night and put up a small.
Dark tent that would offermeager shelter.
(16:01):
From the intermittent drizzle.
However, it did give us afocal point and a base, so we set
up our tripods and our cameras.
The sun was nearly dippingbelow the horizon and we switched
to using an infrared light onour head torches to finish our setup.
Although we were in superstealth mode, people were walking
(16:24):
their dogs while others werejogging, which just made for a very
surreal scene.
I sat quietly enjoying therelaxing river sounds and I saw a
heron, statuesque buthighlighted against the far bank.
The heron jabbed its long beaktowards the bank and a squeal was
(16:44):
heard as it caught a common frog.
Despite the alarm call of thefrog, within two flicks of the heron's
beak, it had centred the frogand swallowed it whole.
The heron took a few more longlegged strides and repositioned itself,
hoping to find another meal.
After an hour or so, thepedestrian traffic on the riverbank
(17:07):
had stopped, but we noticed asmall group of six people setting
up a Little way down theriver, we were drawn to the bright
lights of their torches, thewhirring of their camera motors and
the length of their lenses.
We smiled at each other as wepondered if they had or indeed would
see anything tonight.
(17:29):
That heron had found a goodspot, as the next time I looked,
it was holding a decent sizedfish in its pit beak.
It was far less graceful thanwith the frog, but it finally managed
to swallow it.
I was told it was a small trout.
The tawny owls had begun theirpatrols for the night and we could
hear the calls as they toldeach other all the latest news from
(17:51):
their travels.
And then a silhouette emergedfrom the dark edges of my vision.
I could see the movement onthe water that reminded me of a bow
wave from a narrow boat.
And following the water'smovement, I looked through my scope
and I could see the head of a beaver.
(18:12):
Although native to the UK andonce widespread, but through persecution
and habitat loss, beaversbecame virtually extinct from most
of the uk.
And like so many of mygeneration and younger, I've never
seen a wild beaver before.
I was crouched on the groundas if frozen to the spot as the beaver
(18:34):
went about its business of anearly evening swim before it dipped
under the water, only tosurface again a few moments later.
But several meters away fromits dive.
Spot, I'm pretty sure it was just.
Having some fun beforestarting on its night's work.
But the short dips under thewater provided us with a whole realm
(18:57):
of pictures that that are abeautiful memory of seeing my first
wild beaver.
As the beaver made its waybeyond us and further down the river
towards our fellow watchers, asudden bright light illuminated the
water.
The beaver disappeared underthe water as the camera motors whirred
(19:17):
frantically into life andburst off hundreds of frames in just
seconds.
I don't know what they may have.
Captured, but I suspect itwould have.
Been the surface of the water.
Without a beaver in sight, wedecided to follow the beaver's lead
and not hang around.
We left our base camp andtaking some basic kit, we set off
(19:41):
towards one of the tributaryareas where we could watch them around
the dam that they had built.
This felt so much better.
It was wild and it was dark.
I sat on my folding stool andquietly scanned the area with my
scope.
There was no activity in thebeaver pool or indeed around the
(20:03):
dam area.
But high up in the tall tree Icould see some corvids at roost.
I love how they huddle alongthe branch and the hierarchical structure
as you progress higher up the tree.
I Watched the Daubenton's batsskillfully skim the beaver's pond
surface as they harvestedinsects for their evening meal.
(20:25):
It was fascinating, and to be honest.
I was already made up with my sightings.
But the night was still young.
As we sat silently enjoyingthe beautiful night.
Two beavers had left their denbelow the dam and ventured out into
the pond.
The night was still, but therewasn't a lot of light from the moon.
(20:48):
There was enough though, tosee the beavers shimmering in the
silvery reflections on the water.
But I knew my camera wouldstruggle to get a decent image.
No matter.
I was happy just to watch andtake in the graceful way that the
beavers move almost silently,gliding through the water.
They were busy tonight.
(21:10):
They had gone to the pool'sedge to our left, where two large
willow trees had been felled.
The trees looked like they hadbeen felled for a while.
As I looked through my nightscope, you could see that the side
branches were already strippedand large sections of bark have been
taken off the top edge of thefallen tree.
They must be walking along thetree to harvest bark that would have
(21:33):
been for their food store thiscoming winter.
I'd never seen a beaver walkalong a fallen tree, but I became
even more intrigued when Inoticed that the second tree was
at an angle maybe 45 degreesand had patches of bark stripped
off the top edge.
Although they filled my head,now was not the time to ask questions.
(21:56):
Instead, I clicked the camerato night mode and followed the pair
of beavers as they foraged forfree fresh bark and leaves.
I was drawn to one that I waslater told was a male.
As it went to an old largewillow tree with a circumference
wide enough that I would havestruggled to get my arms around it
(22:18):
and hold my own hand.
And it began to feed.
It was on its hind legs,slightly stretching as it reached
up the tree and began scrapingat the wood with its large front
teeth.
I could hear the wood beingstripped from the tree.
I could only equate it to thesound of a razor sharp chisel edge
(22:41):
as someone far more skilledthan I delicately chiseled away at
a sculpture.
The rhythmic scraping soundwas mesmerizing.
As I sat with the camerafocused on this one point, I hoped
to see this.
And it was everything that Ihad imagined.
(23:03):
After their snacks, the twobeavers met up and began grooming
their fantastic fur.
The dark brown coat is sothick you can see how dense it is.
And they reminded me ofwatching my local badgers grooming
themselves around the set on asummer's evening.
Magical.
(23:24):
The pair of beavers begantheir nightly routine of foraging
for bark, for food, andconstantly ferrying branches back
to their underwater den.
Then the attention changed.
I had been sitting almostcasually, watching the bats as they
skimmed along the still watersof the damned lake, scooping up copious
(23:44):
amounts of insects, when anudge from my colleague had me staring
in almost disbelief.
One of the beavers, possiblythe male, was walking along the bough
of a willow tree it had felledsome time ago in a desperate fight
for survival.
The tree had begun sending upnew shoots from the edge of its trunk
(24:06):
as they lay horizontally withits roots and the short stump still
firmly planted in its original position.
The beaver was climbing alongthe felled trunk and snacking on
the bark as it made its waytowards what was left of the canopy.
We sat in silence, and I wasin a heightened state of excitement.
(24:28):
I had never seen a wild beaverbefore tonight, and now I was watching
one climb a tree.
Its progress was fast until itbecame distracted by the fresh new
foliage.
A tasty treat for a beaver andwell worth climbing along the trunk
for.
I had not heard of beaversclimbing before.
(24:50):
Still, upon getting home anddoing a little research, I found
a handful of reports ofsimilar activity within beaver groups,
and interestingly, two werefrom this pack in Devon.
It may be a more commonbehavior than many of us know.
We spent the whole nightactively watching the beavers going
(25:11):
about their business.
And as the light began tocreep above the horizon, we decided
to pack up our equipment.
In that beautiful earlymorning light of summer, the beavers
looked magnificent in thewater as the light danced around
the area and the reflectionscreated miniature cascades of colour.
(25:32):
It was like a small rainbow dancing.
Just above the water where the bats.
Had fed so well just a fewshort hours ago.
As we slowly walked back, I caught.
Sight of a stunning dog foxwith its russet coat and white chest
patch almost shining, shiningin the early morning light.
(25:53):
It slipped into the thicket asafe distance away and watched us
as we walked by, its largebushy tail occasionally flicking
in a pulsing motion as if itwere sensing our footsteps heading
away from it.
As we returned to the basecamp, a male blackbird startled us
(26:13):
with its alarm call.
The birds early morning soundsceased immediately until they determined
that we were not a threat.
And then they began theirexcited morning chatter once again.
I returned to Raven.
My camper van made a cup oftea, sat and watched the sunrise
(26:34):
on this beautiful summer day,feeling happy and content that I
had just enjoyed one of themost magical wildlife encounters
that I had ever had.
(27:02):
After nearly four years of theWildlife Matters podcast, this was
one of the most magical thingswe have done.
I hope we have captured thethe genuine excitement and thrill
of seeing a wild beaver forthe first time and just watching
them going about their nightlybusiness but in a completely wild
(27:25):
location.
Just as it should be.
If you know a wildlife andnature lover who may enjoy our adventures
and storytelling, please sharethis episode with them or ask them
to visit the Wildlife Matterswebsite where you can find every
episode of the podcast.
(27:47):
You can listen on your phone,your smart speaker, your computer
or however you connect to theweb and you can find Wildlife Matters
on YouTube.
If you do, please like and subscribe.
Next time on the WildlifeMatters podcast.
(28:08):
Join us for a walk tocelebrate the summer solstice to
one of the most mystical andmagical places in the uk.
Subscribe now and follow us tonever miss a new episode.
The Wildlife Matters podcastis independent and we want to keep
it that way.
(28:28):
Please support our work bygiving what you can via our website's
Ways to Help page.
You'll find a link in the Show Notes.
Thank you and Wildlife Matterswill return in two weeks time and
as always, thank you for yourtime in joining us today.
(28:50):
We hope you have enjoyed theadventure with beavers and learned
something new from our storiesand content which is one of the main
objectives of this podcast.
Stay curious wild ones.
This is Wildlife Matterssigning off.
Hello and welcome to thisweek's Wildlife Matters podcast.
Well, here we are at the endof May, with summer fast approaching,
and after many weeks of warmsunshine here in the uk, there has
been a brief respite for mostwildlife and plants, with some rain
in most areas.
(00:46):
This is vital as many species, such.
As badgers with cubs, havestruggled to dig into the sunbaked
soil to find.
The earthworms that they need.
And birds with youngsters inthe nest have struggled to find the
insects and caterpillars whichhave been emerging in much lower
numbers this year.
(01:07):
This week's Wildlife Mattersmain feature is an incredible night
we spent with wild beavers inthe West Country.
It was the first time I'd seena wild beaver in its natural habitat
and I was frozen to the spotas the beaver went about its business
of an early evening swim.
(01:28):
This is a captivating storywhich we are sure you will not want
to miss and we will spendprecious time in nature in this week's
Wildlife Matters mindful moments.
But before that, in thisweek's Wildlife Matters Nature News.
We are talking about thebadger culture as Badger Trust and
(01:52):
Wild justice have released the2024 coal figures in the first of
a series of exposes of thefailings of Natural England and Defra.
And we'll hear about asuccessful government petition to
end caged animals in the UKand the return of the church graveyard.
(02:15):
Citizen Science Week calledChurches Count on Nature.
And that is coming up next onthis week's Wildlife Matters Nature
News.
(02:44):
Hello and welcome to this weekweek's Wildlife Matters Nature News,
where we begin with a shockingexpose by Badger Trust and Wild justice
who have released the badgercult figures from the 2024 Coles,
something that the governmentusually does.
But they have been silentfollowing their ongoing court case
(03:10):
which is due to.
Be held in the autumn.
Badger Trust and Wild justicereleased this figures showing that
10, 769 badgers were killed inthe 2024 cold where the licenses
were issued incorrectly.
That's a tragic and shockingwaste of life.
(03:32):
And all because NaturalEngland's relationship with DEFRA
and farmers was thought to bemore important than the lives of
of 10,000 badgers.
That is not a valid reason tokill a protected species.
Their press release continues.
(03:52):
By now we would have expectedto have had a carefully crafted statement
from the chief vet touting thesupposed success of the culls and
disclosing the number ofbadgers they killed during this 2024
culture.
There has been complete radio silence.
Are they busy working on howto explain it perhaps.
(04:16):
Well, they claim there areother delays too, because typically
in early May, Natural.
England announces the latestbadger color licenses.
Issued for the supplementarycoal areas that become effective
from 1 June.
However, as of 30 May May,there has been no announcement, only
(04:38):
more silence.
Their press release continues.
Badger groups throughoutEngland will be vigilant this Sunday
monitoring their local sets,but they face uncertainty.
Will the paid shooters arrive?
Will the police intervene orwill nothing happen at all?
(05:00):
The Labour government isfailing to protect a protected species
and showing a cavalierdisregard for the law and the facts.
Natural England under Labouris not safeguarding badgers.
Instead, they seem moreconcerned about maintaining their
relationship with farmers.
(05:21):
The public must be vigilant.
In the absence ofnotifications regarding licensed
coals, shooting badgers mayconstitute illegal persecution and
could be considered a crimeSecretary of State, it's time for
the Labour Party to takeresponsibility and address the chaotic
(05:42):
management within your department.
The phrase it's how governmentworks is not an acceptable excuse.
Your party is now in power andthey end their press release by addressing
Secretary of State staff SteveReed directly saying the time for
transparency is now.
Stop defending the failures ofyour predecessors and end the badger
(06:07):
cold now.
Wildlife Matters wishes theBadger Trust and Wild justice every
success with their court caseand you can help support them by
contributing to theircrowdfunder legal costs.
You will find more informationon the Badger Trust website and I
(06:29):
will leave a link to that andthe crowdfunder in the show.
Notes Our second story isabout a parliamentary debate that
has been scheduled after apetition against caged animals reached
103,000 signatures.
A petition advocating for aban on the use of cages and crates
(06:51):
for farmed animals has nowgone over 103,000 signatures, prompting
a parliamentary debate in theHouse of Commons.
The Compassion in WorldFarming petition calls on the government
to prohibit the use of cagesand crates for laying hens, other
birds and sows, as well as aban to individual calf pens.
(07:15):
A debate regarding theposition is now set to take place
on 16 June.
In response to the petition,the government has stated this government
was elected with a mandate toimplement the most ambitious.
Plans to improve animalwelfare in a generation.
We are currently consideringthe issue of cage and crate usage
(07:39):
very carefully.
Wildlife Matters would like tosay thanks to to everyone who has
signed that petition and wewill keep you updated after the debate.
Our third story this week isthat the Church a graveyard nature
study is set to continue thisyear with churches across the UK
(08:01):
preparing for the church'saccount on Nature Week 2025.
Running from June 7 throughthrough to June 15, the event invites
local communities to engage incitizen science by recording the
diverse plants and animalsfound in their local churchyards.
(08:24):
Last year over 540 events tookplace, resulting in more than 17,000
observations and thedocumentation of more than 1700 different
species.
This year there will be aspecial focus on swifts and Edward
(08:45):
Mayer from Swift Conservationsaid nothing but nothing flies like
a swift.
These charismatic birdspresence at your church shows everyone
that the biodiversity there isin good hands.
Participants are encouraged toidentify small swift nest sites,
organize evening swift eventsand use the Swift Mapper app to record
(09:11):
their nesting locations.
The Most Reverend Andrew John,the Archbishop of Wales, emphasized
the importance of involvement,stating, we all have a shared responsibility
to look after our world andthe creatures living in it.
We will leave a link to thatin our show notes and if any of this
(09:33):
week's stories have sparkedyour interest, then please do share
your thoughts and comments onour social media posts or by leaving
a comment wherever you getyour podcasts because your feedback
helps other nature loversdiscover this podcast that was this
(09:54):
week's Wildlife Matters NatureNew it's evident that politics have
(10:18):
been the driving force behindthe badger culls and Bovine TB is
pretty primarily transmittedthrough cattle with 95% of known
transmission occurring fromcattle to cattle.
In Wales there is a proactiveapproach to testing for and eradicating
the disease whilst supportingfarmers and without resorting to
(10:43):
culling badgers.
This strategy was advocated bySaveMe Trust's Ann Brummer, vet Dick
Sibley and Sir Brian May intheir groundbreaking BBC documentary
which shared their experiencewith bovine tv.
If you haven't seen it, it isstill available on the BBC iPlayer.
(11:06):
It's time for England to stopkilling badgers and address the real
issue which is Bovine TV engine.
The vaccine and testingtechnology are already available,
but is there the politicalwill to implement them?
In this week's WildlifeMatters mindful moments, we make
(11:29):
time to appreciate a veryspecial native animal as it enjoys
its evening meal recorded atnight in a very special wild place.
Sit back, relax and enjoy asound that most people in the UK
will not have heard before.
(13:18):
I could hear the wood beingstripped from the tree and I could
only equate it to the sound ofa razor sharp chisel edge.
As someone far more skilledthan I.
Delicately chiseled away at asculpture, the rhythmic scraping
sound was mesmerizing as I satwith the camera focused on this one
(13:41):
point I'd hoped to see thisand it was everything that I had
imagined.
We do hope you enjoyed thesound of a beaver as it was feasted
on a felled willow tree inthis week's Wildlife Matters Mindful
moments and stay with us as wetake you on a journey to discover
(14:05):
a native wild animal in thedepths of the west country on what
was a magical and captivatingexperience as we take you in search
of wild beavers on this week's.
Wildlife Matters main feature.
(14:36):
Hello and welcome to thisweek's Wildlife Matters main feature
and to a story I've been soexcited to share with you because
finally the day had arrived.
After two postponements due tothe heavy and continuous rainfall
that had swollen the riversand flooded the banks.
(14:56):
I was packed and I was readyfor a long day and night.
Watching beavers, just sayingthese words still feels a little
strange, but it was.
A fact that I was off to.
See wild beavers living intheir natural.
Habitat in the uk.
I've known about this locationfor some time now and followed the
(15:19):
project with much interest,but for some inexplicable reason,
I had not been here to seethings for myself.
There are planned trips herethroughout the year where local rangers
or volunteers will take you tothe most likely of several places
that the beavers could appear.
And most times they do get it right.
(15:40):
I recommended the toursorganized by Devon Wildlife Trust.
I was fortunate to be guidedby a wildlife photographer who knows
the area.
And the local beavers very well.
We've arrived at the chosensite for the night and put up a small.
Dark tent that would offermeager shelter.
(16:01):
From the intermittent drizzle.
However, it did give us afocal point and a base, so we set
up our tripods and our cameras.
The sun was nearly dippingbelow the horizon and we switched
to using an infrared light onour head torches to finish our setup.
Although we were in superstealth mode, people were walking
(16:24):
their dogs while others werejogging, which just made for a very
surreal scene.
I sat quietly enjoying therelaxing river sounds and I saw a
heron, statuesque buthighlighted against the far bank.
The heron jabbed its long beaktowards the bank and a squeal was
(16:44):
heard as it caught a common frog.
Despite the alarm call of thefrog, within two flicks of the heron's
beak, it had centred the frogand swallowed it whole.
The heron took a few more longlegged strides and repositioned itself,
hoping to find another meal.
After an hour or so, thepedestrian traffic on the riverbank
(17:07):
had stopped, but we noticed asmall group of six people setting
up a Little way down theriver, we were drawn to the bright
lights of their torches, thewhirring of their camera motors and
the length of their lenses.
We smiled at each other as wepondered if they had or indeed would
see anything tonight.
(17:29):
That heron had found a goodspot, as the next time I looked,
it was holding a decent sizedfish in its pit beak.
It was far less graceful thanwith the frog, but it finally managed
to swallow it.
I was told it was a small trout.
The tawny owls had begun theirpatrols for the night and we could
hear the calls as they toldeach other all the latest news from
(17:51):
their travels.
And then a silhouette emergedfrom the dark edges of my vision.
I could see the movement onthe water that reminded me of a bow
wave from a narrow boat.
And following the water'smovement, I looked through my scope
and I could see the head of a beaver.
(18:12):
Although native to the UK andonce widespread, but through persecution
and habitat loss, beaversbecame virtually extinct from most
of the uk.
And like so many of mygeneration and younger, I've never
seen a wild beaver before.
I was crouched on the groundas if frozen to the spot as the beaver
(18:34):
went about its business of anearly evening swim before it dipped
under the water, only tosurface again a few moments later.
But several meters away fromits dive.
Spot, I'm pretty sure it was just.
Having some fun beforestarting on its night's work.
But the short dips under thewater provided us with a whole realm
(18:57):
of pictures that that are abeautiful memory of seeing my first
wild beaver.
As the beaver made its waybeyond us and further down the river
towards our fellow watchers, asudden bright light illuminated the
water.
The beaver disappeared underthe water as the camera motors whirred
(19:17):
frantically into life andburst off hundreds of frames in just
seconds.
I don't know what they may have.
Captured, but I suspect itwould have.
Been the surface of the water.
Without a beaver in sight, wedecided to follow the beaver's lead
and not hang around.
We left our base camp andtaking some basic kit, we set off
(19:41):
towards one of the tributaryareas where we could watch them around
the dam that they had built.
This felt so much better.
It was wild and it was dark.
I sat on my folding stool andquietly scanned the area with my
scope.
There was no activity in thebeaver pool or indeed around the
(20:03):
dam area.
But high up in the tall tree Icould see some corvids at roost.
I love how they huddle alongthe branch and the hierarchical structure
as you progress higher up the tree.
I Watched the Daubenton's batsskillfully skim the beaver's pond
surface as they harvestedinsects for their evening meal.
(20:25):
It was fascinating, and to be honest.
I was already made up with my sightings.
But the night was still young.
As we sat silently enjoyingthe beautiful night.
Two beavers had left their denbelow the dam and ventured out into
the pond.
The night was still, but therewasn't a lot of light from the moon.
(20:48):
There was enough though, tosee the beavers shimmering in the
silvery reflections on the water.
But I knew my camera wouldstruggle to get a decent image.
No matter.
I was happy just to watch andtake in the graceful way that the
beavers move almost silently,gliding through the water.
They were busy tonight.
(21:10):
They had gone to the pool'sedge to our left, where two large
willow trees had been felled.
The trees looked like they hadbeen felled for a while.
As I looked through my nightscope, you could see that the side
branches were already strippedand large sections of bark have been
taken off the top edge of thefallen tree.
They must be walking along thetree to harvest bark that would have
(21:33):
been for their food store thiscoming winter.
I'd never seen a beaver walkalong a fallen tree, but I became
even more intrigued when Inoticed that the second tree was
at an angle maybe 45 degreesand had patches of bark stripped
off the top edge.
Although they filled my head,now was not the time to ask questions.
(21:56):
Instead, I clicked the camerato night mode and followed the pair
of beavers as they foraged forfree fresh bark and leaves.
I was drawn to one that I waslater told was a male.
As it went to an old largewillow tree with a circumference
wide enough that I would havestruggled to get my arms around it
(22:18):
and hold my own hand.
And it began to feed.
It was on its hind legs,slightly stretching as it reached
up the tree and began scrapingat the wood with its large front
teeth.
I could hear the wood beingstripped from the tree.
I could only equate it to thesound of a razor sharp chisel edge
(22:41):
as someone far more skilledthan I delicately chiseled away at
a sculpture.
The rhythmic scraping soundwas mesmerizing.
As I sat with the camerafocused on this one point, I hoped
to see this.
And it was everything that Ihad imagined.
(23:03):
After their snacks, the twobeavers met up and began grooming
their fantastic fur.
The dark brown coat is sothick you can see how dense it is.
And they reminded me ofwatching my local badgers grooming
themselves around the set on asummer's evening.
Magical.
(23:24):
The pair of beavers begantheir nightly routine of foraging
for bark, for food, andconstantly ferrying branches back
to their underwater den.
Then the attention changed.
I had been sitting almostcasually, watching the bats as they
skimmed along the still watersof the damned lake, scooping up copious
(23:44):
amounts of insects, when anudge from my colleague had me staring
in almost disbelief.
One of the beavers, possiblythe male, was walking along the bough
of a willow tree it had felledsome time ago in a desperate fight
for survival.
The tree had begun sending upnew shoots from the edge of its trunk
(24:06):
as they lay horizontally withits roots and the short stump still
firmly planted in its original position.
The beaver was climbing alongthe felled trunk and snacking on
the bark as it made its waytowards what was left of the canopy.
We sat in silence, and I wasin a heightened state of excitement.
(24:28):
I had never seen a wild beaverbefore tonight, and now I was watching
one climb a tree.
Its progress was fast until itbecame distracted by the fresh new
foliage.
A tasty treat for a beaver andwell worth climbing along the trunk
for.
I had not heard of beaversclimbing before.
(24:50):
Still, upon getting home anddoing a little research, I found
a handful of reports ofsimilar activity within beaver groups,
and interestingly, two werefrom this pack in Devon.
It may be a more commonbehavior than many of us know.
We spent the whole nightactively watching the beavers going
(25:11):
about their business.
And as the light began tocreep above the horizon, we decided
to pack up our equipment.
In that beautiful earlymorning light of summer, the beavers
looked magnificent in thewater as the light danced around
the area and the reflectionscreated miniature cascades of colour.
(25:32):
It was like a small rainbow dancing.
Just above the water where the bats.
Had fed so well just a fewshort hours ago.
As we slowly walked back, I caught.
Sight of a stunning dog foxwith its russet coat and white chest
patch almost shining, shiningin the early morning light.
(25:53):
It slipped into the thicket asafe distance away and watched us
as we walked by, its largebushy tail occasionally flicking
in a pulsing motion as if itwere sensing our footsteps heading
away from it.
As we returned to the basecamp, a male blackbird startled us
(26:13):
with its alarm call.
The birds early morning soundsceased immediately until they determined
that we were not a threat.
And then they began theirexcited morning chatter once again.
I returned to Raven.
My camper van made a cup oftea, sat and watched the sunrise
(26:34):
on this beautiful summer day,feeling happy and content that I
had just enjoyed one of themost magical wildlife encounters
that I had ever had.
(27:02):
After nearly four years of theWildlife Matters podcast, this was
one of the most magical thingswe have done.
I hope we have captured thethe genuine excitement and thrill
of seeing a wild beaver forthe first time and just watching
them going about their nightlybusiness but in a completely wild
(27:25):
location.
Just as it should be.
If you know a wildlife andnature lover who may enjoy our adventures
and storytelling, please sharethis episode with them or ask them
to visit the Wildlife Matterswebsite where you can find every
episode of the podcast.
(27:47):
You can listen on your phone,your smart speaker, your computer
or however you connect to theweb and you can find Wildlife Matters
on YouTube.
If you do, please like and subscribe.
Next time on the WildlifeMatters podcast.
(28:08):
Join us for a walk tocelebrate the summer solstice to
one of the most mystical andmagical places in the uk.
Subscribe now and follow us tonever miss a new episode.
The Wildlife Matters podcastis independent and we want to keep
it that way.
(28:28):
Please support our work bygiving what you can via our website's
Ways to Help page.
You'll find a link in the Show Notes.
Thank you and Wildlife Matterswill return in two weeks time and
as always, thank you for yourtime in joining us today.
(28:50):
We hope you have enjoyed theadventure with beavers and learned
something new from our storiesand content which is one of the main
objectives of this podcast.
Stay curious wild ones.
This is Wildlife Matterssigning off.
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