Beavers solve chronic flooding at London Underground station

A London Underground station that flooded repeatedly during rainstorms is now staying dry, thanks to a family of beavers reintroduced to a nearby wetland.

The Greenford station in Ealing used to flood so often that officials considered building an artificial reservoir. Those plans were scrapped after local conservationists proposed bringing back beavers, a species that went extinct in Britain roughly 400 years ago due to over-hunting.

The Ealing Beaver Project moved five wild beavers into the 24-acre Paradise Fields in 2023. The animals have since turned the area into a natural wetland, and the flooding at Greenford stopped.

"Everything downstream is much more protected from flooding than it was before, all because they want to hold that water back so that they have enough water to swim in and feel safe," Şeniz Mustafa of the Ealing Beaver Project told CBC News.

Researchers now count at least eight beavers in the colony. Sean McCormack, a veterinarian and the project's leader, said the animals have become a local attraction. "We're demonstrating here that actually it's not that wild an idea to live alongside beavers," he told CNN.

The beavers are also generating revenue. Mustafa leads "beaver safaris" multiple times a week at about $37 per person, and the tours are frequently sold out.