BEAVER TOWN

When Citroen said it was supporting a scheme to rewild beavers in West London wetlands, we were eager to gnaw how it would work

- Jordan Katsianis

WEST London's foxes and squirrels are about to AE most industrious of semi-aquatic mammals, the beaver.

Thanks to a three-year project undertaken by an organisation called Citizen Zoo and supported by Citroen, this is just one initiative throughout the UK to return endangered, or in this case regionally extinct, animals to habitats they once called home.

Keen to get in the spirit of things, we arrived on site on the day of release in Citroen's city-friendly Ami, which, despite the camouflage livery, appeared to invite more attention than a supercar on fire as we travelled from our central London starting point. Although it's limited to 28mph, the Ami wasn't exactly challenged on the journey down to our rendezvous point. More importantly, its low-carbon footprint and unthreatening nature ensured we were unlikely to startle any environmentalists.

This specific rewilding project in the capital has been in the planning stages for more than three years, with comprehensive environmental and biological assessments, and in-depth communication with the community around Eal Paradise Fields, the location of the beaver's proposed wetland habitat.