How beavers are protecting a West London town from flooding

October 6, 2026 / 10:53 AM EDT / CBS News

To find a little wilderness in West London, take a left at the shopping mall and head under the highway. Near a McDonald's and within reach of the city's busy transport network, a family of beavers is reshaping a wetland and helping protect nearby streets and a Tube station from flooding.

Five Eurasian beavers were released into the town of Greenford in October 2023. They were the first to return to West London in about 400 years, part of an effort to bring back a species hunted to extinction centuries ago. The animals live within a fenced site that remains accessible to the public.

Veterinarian and conservationist Dr. Sean McCormack, one of the driving forces behind the Ealing Beaver Project, puts the chances of spotting one during a recent visit at 90%.

"Anytime from now you could see a beaver swimming across the lagoon here," he said.

But these animals were brought here to do more than draw an audience. They were offered a job.

The area around nearby Greenford Station had suffered repeated flooding during heavy rainfall. Local authorities were considering engineering works to hold back water before it…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/