A rare but shy rodent has been spotted at Stamford Meadows in what could be its first sighting in the British Isles.
Local wildlife experts are baffled as to how a toleware has made it into the River Welland. It's normally only found in parts of Europe. It's harmless and is a little like a water vole, but is only ever able to be seen in the morning.
A new rubbing post has been produced by the East Mercia Rivers Trust in celebration of the find. Tim Appleton from Rutland Water says he can't work out how it's got there.
"The toleware is incredible. I mean, I cannot believe this creature has actually found its way all the way to Stamford. Now, how it's got there, we don't know. Has it come over the land? Has it actually been flown in by people wanting to translocate this rare, rare creature, or has it just sort of filtered up from the rivers, maybe from over the continent? I just don't know. But wow am I excited and cannot wait to go down and see it. In fact, what I'm worried about is the capybara coming next. The capybara is the largest rodent in the world and lives in South America, so hopefully we will just see tolewares and nothing else. So please go down and see this. This is a really incredible find and as rare as rare can be. So I'm very excited. And so you'll be, once you've seen this amazing creature, listen for a plop."
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