World Cup: England’s European Beaver (Castor fiber)
So I somehow picked a mammal for England that’s been extinct in England for, oh, about 400 years or so. Yep. The European beaver was hunted nearly to extinction by the 20th century, and no longer existed in most countries of Europe. Now it’s being reintroduced, and it has successfully regained a place in a couple dozen European countries, such as Denmark and France. They’ve been reintroduced in an ongoing five-year trial in Scotland, but don’t worry, I read enough British mysteries to know that Scotland is not England. In England, it seems there have been one or two semi-unsuccessful reintroduction attempts, and one that’s going pretty well at my new home, Lower Mill Estate, a “residential nature reserve” of “luxury second homes” where “the kids can pound the bike and walking trails round our seven private lakes; dad can contemplate life over a pint in one of the local country pubs; mum can relax and have treatments in the award-winning Spa.” Yes, I use the quotes because I am envious. Lower Mill Estate has European beavers living in a 15-acre enclosure. Perhaps success there will mean more beavers in England in the near future.
As for England’s soccer team, I haven’t much to say except that I’m surprised that they’ve only won one World Cup, which was in 1966, when England hosted the tournament. Now they’re tied for second in Group C, which is surprisingly led by Slovenia, with the USA, and they still have a decent shot at continuing to the Round of 16, even though they’ve been fairly lackluster and were even booed by their own fans after their match against Algeria ended in a draw.
That Lower Mill Estate sounds like a great place to me, Jennifer! We could use a second home, anyway.
Considering England’s terrible performance at the World Cup, choosing an extinct mammal to represent them seems very appropriate.
I came by via your Mexican Grey Squirrel post. Thank you for doing this project. I shall be a faithful visitor.
Good point, Grey Squirrel, about the appropriateness of extinction for England. And thank you for checking out my site. I’ll look forward to hearing from you again.
‘fraid I’ll be rooting more for the beaver than its home country…
So does this beaver have orange teeth also?
It does! Apparently, some rodents (I guess only some…not sure) have orange teeth because their enamel has iron in it.
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=328324
And now we’re out =( Ah well. Awesome mammal nevertheless.
Yeah, we are, too. But I’m glad you like the mammal!