Beavers breed in Scotland for first time in 400 years

beaver

There’s celebrations going on north of the border as confirmation comes that beavers which were reintroduced to the UK last year have bred and kits – beaver cubs – appear to be doing well. The best part of the news is that the two kits are from different family groups and that would indicate that conditions in the Knapdale Forest are ideal for the beaver population.

Eleven beavers – three family groups – were introduced to Knapdale Forest as part of the Scottish Beaver Trial and were bought in from Norway.

The project manager of the Scottish Beaver Trial, which is a partnership between the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and the Scottish Wildlife Trust called the sighting fantastic. “Both these beaver families are real trial success stories, having settled into Knapdale very well,” Simon Jones said.

“Both have built their own lodge and one family has had great success building a dam to access better food supplies.

“This has created a magnificent new area of wetland in which wildlife is now flourishing in. It is a fantastic step forward,” he added.

This is an early success for the five year project to re-introduce the beaver to the UK. To have 2 births in the first year bodes well for the future success for the project. “After weeks of patient observation, we were finally rewarded with not just one kit being spotted but a second kit from a different family group as well,” Christian Robstad, beaver field officer for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, said.

The project to reintroduce the beaver is the first time in the UK that an attempt has been made to bring back a country wide extinct mammal species. The eleven European beavers (Castor fiber) were released in May 2009 following a public consultation which saw over 70% of people in favour of their reintroduction. The Scottish trial is following on from 24 other European countries that have reintroduced the European beaver to their countryside and this has lead to an additional 150 sites throughout Europe where the beaver can be found.

Beavers can have a major impact on their local environment which can be beneficial for other species. Already one of the beaver families in Scotland has built a dam to increase it’s food supply and this has lead to the formation of wetlands and ponds which improve the habitat for other species. Beavers are a natural way to improve the habitats of other wildlife such as otters, water voles, dragon flies and birds. One of the negative impacts is that forestry footpaths in the area have succumbed to flooding and are no longer passable but that’s a small price to pay for the return of this majestic keystone species.

Beavers became extinct in the UK during the 16th century mainly because of hunting for fur and glands that were used in traditional medicine. The European beaver came previously close to extinction before attempts were made to help it recover. In the early 20th century numbers had dwindled to as low as 1,200 individuals by 2003 conservation efforts had increased beaver numbers to over 600,000.

Although the Argyll beaver project is the first formal reintroduction of the beaver into the wild in the UK, it is not the first time beavers have been bought back into the UK. Since 2001 beavers have been hard at work in an enclosed area in Kent helping to restore a wetland managed by the Wildwood Trust and the Kent Wildlife Trust. Other beaver families live around the UK in enclosed areas including Gloucestershire and the Martin Mere reserve in Lancashire. The beaver reintroduction in Scotland though is in a unfenced area and the beavers are free to live in a natural and non-captive setting.

photo credit: flickkerphotos