First time in 400 years

'First' newborn beavers spotted in the Argyle Forest

The first newborn beavers born in the wild since their re-introduction to the UK last year have been spotted by officials in a Scottish forest.

At least two kits, estimated to be eight weeks old and belonging to different family groups, have been seen in Knapdale Forest in Argyll.

A total of 11 beavers were brought to Scotland from Norway last year as part of the Scottish Beaver Trial.

Beavers were hunted to extinction in the UK 400 years ago.

:)

Muskrat Love

I forgot to mention the muskrats. The other day I was driving along and had stopped at a stop sign when this greyish-brownish creature with a gopher head and a flat tail came walking across the road. I scared the person I was with to death since I said it rather looked like a large rat, only with a different head (to the point he went all girly on me and started wringing his hands and even yelped. If he could have jumped out of the car, he would have. Of course, then he'd be outside with the giant killer rat. You should see what he did when a giant praying mantis was on the windshield.) :) Once we got to our destination, someone brought out a natural history encyclopaedia and we determined that yes, it was a muskrat, no doubt leaving the nearby water in search of a mate. We're also reasonably certain that the 'beavers' who cavorted in the swamp near my apartment complex were really muskrats.

Incidentally, I always hated 'Muskrat Love' by Captain & Tennille--and for that matter, didn't really care for 'The Wedding Song (There is Love)' even though it played at my wedding (I always found their music way too saccharine.) :).