Have you heard that taking a short walk after dinner can help with digestion? Apparently, this tradition is not exclusive to humans. Scientists caught a keystone species taking an evening walk to flatulate.
"The beaver breaking wind gave the team a good giggle in the office and has continued to do so ever since," Lauren Jasper, beaver officer at Cornwall Wildlife Trust, told BBC's Discover Wildlife.
The scientists' important work included setting up trail cameras to learn about the beaver population in the area. Beavers are a keystone species, which means that their contribution to the ecosystem is great enough to disrupt the food chain if removed.
Trail cameras are powerful tools to help experts gauge population, behaviors, and overall health. Especially when it comes to endangered and keystone species, this research can make a massive difference in the health of a larger ecosystem.
In England, beavers were hunted to extinction over 400 years ago. Many efforts across the country have been made to restore the biodiversity that beavers encourage. "When you bring beavers back, other wildlife follows," Cheryl Marriott, director of nature & people at Cornwall Wildlife Trust, told Discover Wildlife.
Since reintroducing just two beavers to a wooded acreage with a stream in Cornwall in 2017, they have built eight new dams. Along with the dams came new ponds, which are now home to double the number of brown trout, 11 species of bats, 10 new species of birds recorded for the first time ever, 17 species of dragonflies, three species of mammals recorded for the first time ever, three new streams and 1,790 new square meters (1,927 square feet) of water surface, according to the Cornwall Beaver Project.
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Beavers are master architects of rich biodiversity, even if they are a little smelly. "There is actually a good reason for this activity," Jasper said of the farting.
"The beaver might have been scent marking — they produce an oily substance from a gland near their tail to mark territory," reported Melissa Hobson for Discover Wildlife.
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