This week’s good news story comes from Yahoo News ‘The Cool Down. Many thanks to Noelle Granger for sending this story to me.
Creature hunted nearly to extinction makes stunning comeback: ‘It’s thriving’
In a remarkable win for both people and the planet, the Eurasian beaver — once hunted to near extinction in France — is making a triumphant comeback.
A single beaver family that arrived in the tiny hamlet of Montlahuc in 2020 has transformed a dry, sun-scorched pasture into a thriving wetland, showing how one small species can help fight the negative impacts of a warming world and revive local communities.
Montlahuc, a village of just 40 residents in the Drôme region, had suffered years of worsening drought that left meadows parched and local farmers struggling. But within three years of the beavers’ arrival, a once-barren field now holds more than 2,000 square meters of standing water.
Birds, insects, and lush green vegetation have returned, inspiring residents to rethink how they manage their land.
“We used to graze this land only once a year,” local farmer Marc-Antoine Forconi told Futura. “Now, it’s thriving.”
Beavers are often called “nature’s engineers” for good reason. Using their powerful teeth and instinctive building skills, they construct dams and channels that slow water flow and store moisture in the soil. This natural water management supports healthier ecosystems, creates habitats for other wildlife, and provides a low-cost, low-maintenance way to help landscapes withstand drought.
Inspired by their furry neighbors, Montlahuc farmers have even built their own small dams to retain water — though, as Forconi joked, “The beavers outperformed us.”
Once reduced to only about 100 individuals in the early 20th century, Eurasian beavers are now protected and number between 20,000 and 25,000 in France, according to Futura. The species’ return highlights how protecting wildlife can lead to unexpected climate solutions, echoing other success stories, such as the resurgence of gray wolves in Yellowstone or the rewilding of bison in Europe.
This quiet resurgence is more than a feel-good story. It’s a reminder that working with nature, rather than against it, can create healthier landscapes and a more resilient future for communities everywhere.
The good news in this story is that nature has once again demonstrated that good practices and effective land management can help reverse environmental damage. Today’s JohnKu talks about taking that lesson to heart. I hope you have a delightful weekend.
Lesson by John W. Howell © 2025
Nature keeps saying,
Take care of the land and it . . .
Will take care of you.
Fiction Favorites 
A heart-warming piece by you, John, and most welcome. I’ve aways ‘had a thing’ about beavers. Endearing, hardworking and creative, they were/are a great benefit to man-kind. Thank you! Cheers. Joy
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I’m glad you like the story, Joy. I certainly did.
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A really great story, John! How different the situation can be. Here our fishfarmers want to kill the beaver. ;-/ Best wishes, Michael
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Humans always seem to be on the wrong side of nature.
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Dear John
We are happy to have beavers here again. Hanne-Dina just visited a place where beavers are active, not far from here.
We wish you a happy weekend
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
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They do good work. Thanks, Klausbernd.
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I just saw this the other night in a PBS show about Transylvania. The European bison has done the same. I think it’s fantastic!!
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I do too. It is a wonder beavers survived, given human interference.
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It took some people who cared.
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Yup. 😀
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Wonderful story. There is a famous old tale about Idaho air dropping beavers into the back country for similar reasons. I remember seeing some black and white footage at one time.
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I would love to see that. Thanks, Craig.
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Big smiles here!
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Here, too.
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What a wonderfully uplifting story and a perfect reminder of the quiet, powerful wisdom nature holds. It’s truly inspiring to see how a single beaver family can act as such a potent catalyst for change, not just ecologically but within the hearts and minds of a community. This isn’t just about the return of a species; it’s about the return of hope, balance, and a practical model for resilience.
The farmers’ humility in admitting that “the beavers outperformed us” is perhaps the most profound lesson of all. It shows a beautiful shift from trying to control the land to learning from it—a partnership that promises a lusher, greener future for everyone.
Thank you for sharing this dose of hope and the perfect, thoughtful JohnKu to go with it. It’s a delightful way to head into the weekend, reminded that sometimes the best solutions are the gentlest ones. Wishing you a restful and delightful weekend as well
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Thank you for the lovely words. I agree that gental
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‘The beavers outperformed us’–that is both funny and sweet. Definitely good news.
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I agree, Lois. Super news.
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This is very good news, John. That the beavers helped the people in Montlahuc is a true blessing. Yes, beavers are nature’s engineers.
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I agree, Tim. I hope they thrive there.
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Love these stories about returning from the brink of extinction.
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Me too. Makes efforts seem worthwhile. 😊
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Great post, John. Thanks for sharing this inspiring and hope-filled story. Have a wonderful weekend! 🌞
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Thank you, Gwen. Wishing you a super weekend as well. 😊
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Gotta love those beavers!
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Yes indeed. 😀
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I love stories where nature makes a come back. Wonderful to hear about. Thank you for bringing us this story, John.
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I do too, Esther. It is a great story. 😊
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How heartwarming. Thank you, John!
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Always a pleasure, Joy Thank you 😊
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I love your JohnKu today! It’s SO true. What a great story.
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I agree Jan. It is a great story 😊
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Three cheers for the beavers!! They are Canada’s national animal for good reason.
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Hip hip hooray😀
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I love the quote about the beavers outperforming them. Sometimes ya just gotta leave some of this work to the experts…!
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I agree Bruce. Beavers know wetlands for sure.
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This is the coolest thing I’ve read today. While covid lockdown was problematic in a lot of ways one of the wonderful things was the way nature responded to us not being in its space quite so much. Thanks for the post!
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I remember the Venice canals being. Clear during that time. 😊
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beautiful picture 👍
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Thank you.
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Maybe beavers could help us with the drought here in Texas. Or as you wrote in “Lesson,” we should take care of the land. Cheers for the weekend!
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We should take better care of the land.
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This is so cool! Beavers to the rescue!!
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Yes indeed.
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You hit the nail on the head when you said it’s about working with nature rather than against it. There is SO much more profit for everyone involved when we allow nature to teach us what’s best instead of trying to reinvent something that doesn’t need to be reinvented.
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So true, Pilgrim. 😊
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My dad was a wildlife biologist during his career and worked on a couple of endangered species projects, so I got to witness a couple of comebacks first-hand.
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It would be wonderful. Thanks, Pete.
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That is certainly interesting for me since there were lots of Eurasian Beavers where I grew up in northern Sweden, and I did not know about this. So I looked it up. They were indeed nearly exctinct. However, they made a strong comeback and there were 100,000 Eurasian Beavers in Sweden by 1995. The recovery has been going on for a while and there are a lot of them in the north. Now there are 1.5 million Eurasian Beavers.
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Great statistics, Thomas.Thanks for sharing. 😀
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Nature helps us in so many ways. By the way, , according to Wikipedia, there are pros 10 million beavers in US and, in most areas, they’re protected.
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That is a lot of Beavers, for sure.
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Hurray for the comeback of an environmental wonder! Thanks for the good news story, John.
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Glad you liked it Monika. 😊
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While this is good news for the beaver, I’m not fond of what they do to the land here in New England.
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I had a beaver dam behind the house in Connecticut, and they built a beautiful pond that we would ice skate on in the winter.
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That must have been wonderful. Because they’re protected here, we loose so many trees and woodland areas; it looks like a post forest fire. Finding a balance in nature is not an easy thing. Best to you, John.
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The best back to you, Jennie.😊
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I like this beaver comeback story! Happy to hear of their engineering feats increasing wetlands.
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Yes. I was happy, too.
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They are important animals. Unfortunately, they are still hunted for their pelts in the Midwest.
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I can believe that. Everything seems to be hunted in the Midwest.
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Unfortunately, there is a lack of work in the rural parts of the states. People hunt for food and to earn a subsistence living.
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Yeah, I get that.
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The JohnKu says it all.
OMG, I adore beavers. And skunks, very cute and so many animals … well all of them really!
Thanks John! Live this good news.
🦫X 🦫X 🦫X
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It is good news, I agree. I share you’re affection for beavers. Skunks? Not so much. 😀X
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Hmm, interesting type-o. Was supposed to be”love” the good news.
Yet, “live the good news” is more poignant.
Another victory for the JohnKu.
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I read it as love. See what the brain does. Thank you on the victory compliment. ✌🏻X
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Hi John, this is great news. I don’t know that much about European animals but I knew beavers had been endangered. So good to see them making a come back and also a difference.
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Yes, it is good to see them making a comeback, Robbie. Thanks
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💚
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😊
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Wonderful news, dear John. Might the balance return to the world!🐾🍤🍤🍤🍻🌞
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One can only hope.
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Wonderful share, John.. Thanks.🦫🦫🦫
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[…] news story is from Upworthy magazine. I ran a story about French Beavers on October 17th, 2025. Here is the link to that story if you missed it. This post is an update on what’s going on in America. Thanks […]
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