Beavers were hunted into extinction in England in the 17th century.

This past week for the first time, beavers were legally released into the English countryside.

Conservationists hailed it as a watershed moment for this Keystone species,

which helps combat flooding and drought by engineering the landscape with dams and channels.

Alex Thompson of Independent Television News was at Perbeck Nature Reserve,

and Dorset for the historic event.

The sea mist wreathed Corfe Castle from dawn.

But the way is now cleared for beavers here and beyond.

A short walk to the edge of the ponds.

In the National Trust's Purbeck Reserve,

X, literally, marks the spot.

So many have worked so long to achieve.

Is that exciting for someone like me who spent 40 years working to restore nature?

Today marks something really exciting, which sounds like a small thing, which is two pairs of beavers being released here at Perbeck,

but actually is a big bold step in reversing the

defining beavers.

All but cut off from the mainland, Perbeck's a stunning landscape of lagoon, bog, forest.

At the designated release spot, the cordon is up.

They're ready. Final preparations, remote cameras in place, and they arrive.

Two beavers driven overnight from Tayside, nine hours north. Bang on time, the crates are set down.

They emerge, a little stressed, hesitant even. This, the first of many legal

releases after a 400-year absence, as these animals were hunted to extinction for their

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