Immigrants are not very popular in the kingdom at the moment – with one exception: the beaver is conquering rivers, cities and the hearts of the British on the island. Even Boris Johnson is a fan. But there are also conflicts.
In the north-east of the county of Kent, in a forgotten corner not far from the English Channel, lies the beaver paradise. Nobody knows exactly how and when the rodents, which have actually been extinct on the island for 400 years, got into the River Stour near Canterbury. Maybe someone dumped them illegally, maybe they were escapees from the Ham Fen beaver project ten miles south of Stodmarsh Conservation Area, says Peter Dale, operator of Grove Ferry River Trips.