Each day this week we are tweeting about a different animal that once lived in the Levels, and which might just do so again. Day two - and it' a really really big one, a true megafuana up to 18 ft long - the European sturgeon. http://somersetwildlands.org  1/7

Once known as the common sturgeon, Acipencer sturio was once found throughout Europe, living in the seas and coming into rivers to spawn. Now they are critically endangered, likely surviving in the wild in just one river in France. 2/7

Allowed to grow to full size these are huge animals, with records of catches over 500 lbs (220kg). They were once so numerous that King Stephen of England reportedly fed his army of 80k on sturgeon caught in the Thames. 3/7 https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/fishing/related-articles/the-fisheries-and-angling-team/european-sturgeon-lost-british-species

Despite being now very rare, records of sturgeon in British waters continued well into the 20th century, although the last records from the Levels area come from the River Parrett around Bridgwater in the 1830s, where the Levels drain into the sea. 4/7 https://www.glaucus.org.uk/Sturgen2.htm 

While there have so far been no attempts to re-introduce sturgeon to British waters efforts are underway in mainland Europe, with juveniles being released into river systems, such here in the Rhine. 5/7 https://rewildingeurope.com/blog/the-return-of-the-atlantic-sturgeon-in-the-rhine-system/

A little way down the size ladder the European eel is also in big trouble as a result of poaching and barriers to their migration. Numbers in the Somerset Levels have declined by over 90% since the 1980s - a huge loss of biomass. 6/7 https://www.somersetwildlife.org/what-we-do/restore-somersets-nature/create-living-landscapes/levels-moors/somerset-eel-project

While efforts to restock eels are underway, by making space for nature we can help create opportunities to reconnect rivers and waterways, expand wetlands and reduce agricultural pollution - all of which will benefit the aquatic life of the Levels. 7/7 http://www.somerestwildlands.org/donate