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Hot Dam: Why beavers are Britain’s new climate heroes

Hot Dam: Why beavers are Britain’s new climate heroes

Up First from NPR
Aug 16, 2026 27 min
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About this episode

Four hundred years ago, the last of Britain’s native beavers were hunted to extinction. But in 2009, scientists began a grand experiment to bring the furry, buck-toothed rodents back. They relocated a pair of Norwegian beavers to a remote rainforest in Scotland, hoping they’d become the Adam and Eve of a new line of British beavers. Today on <em>The Sunday Story</em>, NPR’s Lauren Frayer travels from the wilds of Scotland to a tube station in London, to explore how these animals – beloved by some humans and loathed by others – are transforming the British landscape.<br/><br/>Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at <a href="http://plus.npr.org/"target="_blank" >plus.npr.org</a>.<br/><br/>See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.<br/><br/><a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

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