Endangered crayfish rescued from dried up West Yorkshire riverbed released back into the wild
The white clawed crayfish were rescued from the River Wharfe over the summer
A group of critically endangered white clawed crayfish, which were rescued from a dried up river bank in Burley in Wharfedale earlier this year, have been returned to the wild.
They were taken for the Wharfe amid low later levels caused by the drought, before being cared for by the Environment Agency at York Gate Gardens near Leeds.
The team successfully rescued 32 adults, including 21 females carrying eggs.
30 babies were born in quarantine, with most of the group now being returned to a tributary of the River Wharfe.
Some of the young crayfish are being kept back to be released at the site where the original rescue happened, once water levels improve.
Tim Selway, Environment Agency biodiversity specialist and crayfish expert, said:
“This location has been chosen as it is already a known safe site for native crayfish in the Wharfe, as a barrier in the river prevents the invasive American signal crayfish from reaching them.
“We’re hoping this population will breed and support the long-term future of the species.
“Finding this unknown population was great news, and this will help to support native crayfish conservation work in Yorkshire.”
White-clawed crayfish are the UK’s only native, freshwater crayfish, but are threatened by invasive American signal crayfish.