Water voles returning to national park in west country after 30 years

150 ‘Ratty’ river creatures to be released in Somerset estate where they had become extinct

Steven Morris

Tue 11 Sep 2018 00.01 BST

One of the most beloved and endangered riverine creatures is returning to a west country national park where it has been extinct for more than three decades.

Over the next few days 150 water voles will be released at six locations in the Aller river on the Holnicote Estate on Exmoor in Somerset.

Once regularly spotted on Britain’s riverbanks, they are now the nation’s fastest declining land mammal, disappearing from 94% of their former sites due to factors including increased urbanisation, predators and a decline in natural habitat.

The new arrivals at Holnicote will be closely watched to see how they are settling in. Rangers, volunteers, students and members of the public will monitor their numbers.

They will use simple field signs to record their presence and behaviour, from actual sightings and “plopping” sounds as they dive into water to the tell-tale signal of grass blades nibbled off at distinctive 45 degree angles.

Continued  

Hate mail for caviar producer accusing him of dumping unwanted fish in North Devon

By North Devon Journal | Posted: April 17, 2014

A NORTH Devon sturgeon farmer producing caviar for some of the UK's top restaurants has received hate mail which accuses him of dumping unwanted fish.

However Ken Benning, owner of Exmoor Caviar, has hit back at the claims, and has said smoked sturgeon is itself in demand at restaurants across the country.

Mr Benning, who is producing Britain’s first commercially-grown caviar, said: "We’ve had some nasty emails from misinformed people.

"There’s a general perception that the fish is killed purely for its eggs – the caviar – and then thrown away. But that’s completely not true.

"None of our fish is wasted. Even the heads are boiled up for stock.

"Sturgeon meat is wonderfully fatty and perfect for smoking. The caviar has all the glamour and the luxury image but smoked sturgeon is absolutely crucial to our business."

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Emperor of Exmoor: reports of his demise may be exaggerated, say locals

The reported demise of the Emperor of Exmoor, the celebrated red stag which graced the Devon countryside for more than a decade, came with several mysteries attached, not least who shot Britain's largest land wild animal, where they did it and what happened to the body.


Now has come another twist: the Emperor might not be dead after all.

Some locals, witnessing the continued failure of dozens of reporters and TV crews to pin down details of the demise of the 2.75-metre (9ft), 135kg (300lb) beast, much less the whereabouts of his carcass, are taking a sceptical eye to the saga.

They have questioned the reported location of the shooting by an unnamed but licensed hunter, given variously as close to the A361 Tiverton to Barnstaple road or, more specifically, near the village of Rackenford.

Several have said the stag was never seen there but instead spent its time a good 10 miles further north, inside Exmoor national park.

"I smell a rat," said one farm owner who, with several other locals, has grown tired of the media interest and asked not to be named. "Without evidence anyone can say they shot anything. I could say I shot an elephant, and who's going to say no? There's someone I've spoken to who lives up on Exmoor who's certain he's still around."

She added: "As far as I know he's never been seen in this area. He tends to be seen in the Winsford area, that's where people look out for him, and stalkers look out for him too. Because he's such an icon they don't want him killed, more than anybody else."

Responding to reports that an eyewitness saw the Emperor's head being loaded into a vehicle, she said: "If he was the Emperor, you can't load a set of antlers that size into a normal car.

"And what would you do with the body? Believe you me, if he was as big as they say he is supposed to be, it would take about six men to lift him. They wouldn't have needed a car, they wouldn't even have needed a pick-up, they would have needed a truck."

Complicating matters is the fact that while the Emperor was Exmoor's undisputed behemoth, the area hosts several other giant stags which to the untutored eye look quite similar, said Clare O'Connor, a press officer at the Exmoor national park authority.

She confirmed that the Emperor was generally seen within the bounds of the park rather than where he reportedly met his end, but admitted Exmoor authorities were also in the dark. "It's possible that someone shot him and was put off by the media attention. But it's possible that it was another stag. Personally, I'd like to think he's still with us."


Adam Gabbatt and Peter Walker

guardian.co.uk,