First beaver dam in England for centuries

A pair of beavers have built what is believed to be the first dam in England for centuries.

The animals were hunted to extinction in England and Wales during the 12th century and disappeared from the rest of the country 400 years later.

	One of the beavers that has settled on the River Tale

However, two beavers from Germany were introduced to a river enclosure in Devon last year.

This year, the pair have built a 6ft dam with mud, bark and twigs on the River Tale at Escot House, near Ottery St Mary.

John-Michael Kennaway, who owns the estate, has been working to reintroduce the animals on the site for three years. He said that the beavers may be rearing young, known as kits.

"The male beaver has been spotted feeding alone some distance from the lodge, whereas the female seems keen to stay close to their home," he said. "This might suggest that she has young inside, but we won't know until at least late July when they're ready to come outside."

The beavers are kept in an enclosure to prevent them from escaping into the wild.

Mr Kennaway said: "We haven't had beavers here for 800 years because they were hunted to extinction. Now, a year after they came to Escot, they have built a dam and we think they are breeding. We won't know for sure for a couple of months but it is very encouraging. It really is a superb structure - quite a feat of engineering for two small beavers."

Over the last few years, 15 beavers have been re-introduced to England, but these have lived on lakes and had no need to build a dam.

In 2002, a group of nine beavers were re-introduced in England at Ham Fen, Kent. In 2005, another six European beavers were released on an enclosed site in South Cerney, Gloucestershire.

More recently, another population was set up at Martin Mere in Lancashire. Beavers have also been released on private land in Scotland.

The animals will only build a dam on a river to form an area in which to construct a lodge to live in. The nocturnal creatures can grow to more than a yard in length and weigh up to 70lb.

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Straight Lesbians in Greek wrestle

By Helena Smith in Athens

An attempt to stop homosexual women calling themselves lesbians will begin in Athens with a court hearing that comes amid a growing national debate over gay rights in one of Europe's most conservative countries.

The hearing was initiated by plaintiffs on the Aegean island of Lesbos, who say they are unhappy that gay women have "usurped" a term that locals claim should have only geographical connotations.

"We are very upset that, worldwide, women who like women have appropriated the name of our island," said Dimitris Lambrou, a magazine publisher and one of the islanders making the complaint. "Until 1924, according to the Oxford English dictionary, a Lesbian was a native of our isle," he said. "Now, because of its new connotations, our womenfolk are unable to call themselves such and that is wrong."

The hearing coincides with a highly charged national debate over gay rights. Mr Lambrou insists he has "nothing against lesbians" who flock to Eressos - a resort on the island famed as the birthplace of the 5th century BC poet Sappho - and whose contribution to the local economy has been considerable.

But human rights campaigners say the court action has been motivated by barely disguised homophobia in a nation that remains reluctant to accept gay people. "No other group faces such discrimination in this country," said Grigoris Valianatos, a long-time homosexual rights advocate.

"The [Orthodox] church is literally out of control in its approach towards us, the media full of hate speech and the conservative government both hypocritical and indifferent. This trial is a reflection of the homophobia that prevails in Greece."

On Saturday police intervened when members of the far-right Golden Dawn group attacked gay pride marchers in the biggest Gay Pride parade in Athens.

The increased visibility of gay people - including the first marriages between two lesbians and two gay men last week - has been met with consternation, with the ruling conservatives holding emergency talks on the issue.

Unlike most other EU member states, where same-sex couples are accorded a degree of civil rights, gays in Greece have fought an uphill battle for acceptance.

Guardian News & Media

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