Wildlife Archives

Bringing Back Nature’s Engineers: Beaver Reintroduction in the UK

20th March 202520th March 2025 By chXout Team Comment Closed

Bringing Back Nature's Engineers: Beaver Reintroduction in the UK For centuries, beavers were absent from the UK's landscapes due to hunting and habitat loss. A movement to reintroduce these industrious creatures is making exciting progress and we could be spotting more of them in the wild soon! Why Reintroduce Beavers? Beavers are often referred to as “nature’s engineers” for their remarkable ability to build dams and create wetland habitats. Their activities slow water flow, reduce flooding risks, and enhance biodiversity. Wetlands formed by beavers provide homes for countless species of plants, birds, insects, and aquatic life—transforming degraded landscapes into thriving ecosystems.Moreover, beavers play a crucial role in combating climate change. By storing water and increasing carbon sequestration in wetlands, they help mitigate the effects of droughts and rising temperatures. Reintroducing beavers isn’t just about nostalgia; it’s about restoring balance to nature. The UK's Journey to Beaver Reintroduction Beaver reintroduction in the UK began as a small but ambitious initiative. In 2009, the Scottish Beaver Trial...

DNA Barcoding Fungi

9th October 20239th October 2023 By chXout Team Comment Closed

DNA Barcoding Fungi THE FUNGI KINGDOM Fungi are one the largest and most diverse groups of organisms in the world. As we have the plant and animal kingdoms, fungi make up a kingdom of their own. From just talking a look at them, you would probably assume that fungi and plants are very similar, when in fact fungi are actually biologically closer to animals. Fungi are responsible for important environmental processes such as nutrient cycling and plant, animal and soil health. Humans also rely on fungi in food production, including items such as cheese, bread and chocolate and the manufacture of drugs and biofuels. Not forgetting that there is a huge market for edible mushrooms all over the world. Mycology is the study of fungi. For something that is so important to ecosystems and biodiversity, fungi are under-studied when compared with animals and plants. There are estimated to be at least six times as many species of fungi than plants, anywhere between 2 and 11...

Help garden birds this winter

19th December 202215th February 2023 By chXout Team Comment Closed

With very early autumn conditions being labelled as a “false” autumn at the end of August, followed by almost spring-like conditions and then the big freeze last week, it’s fair to say that British wildlife is probably very confused right now.After being followed round the garden by a winter favourite, the robin this weekend, one of the chXout® team decided to look into what they could do for garden birds in this weather. With no bird seed and not a whole lot to choose from in the kitchen, it seemed like this might be a bit of a challenge.We should note that with the prevalence of bird flu at the moment, interaction with wild birds should be kept to a minimum and it is important to wash your hands before and after replacing food.As more people seem to be aware of now, the last thing we should really be feeding any type of birds is bread. Although it is not...