Joy as beavers return for first time since the 1500s
Wildlife experts have said they are delighted – and a little bit baffled – after discovering a family of beavers living wild on the Avon area.
It is the first time beavers have lived in this part of the world for more than 400 years – the Eurasian beaver is native to Britain but they were hunted to extinction in this country in the 1500s.
But no, a family of beavers with a year-old kit and three more born this year, have been discovered, monitored, and now photographed and filmed at a secret location in the River Avon catchment area not too far from Bath.
The discovery took months to confirm. In 2019 there were the first reports of people seeing the signs of beavers – bits of trees and branches gnawed off to look like pencils – on the riverbank, and when the Covid-19 lockdown meant suddenly people were out on riverside country walks in greater numbers, the reports kept coming in to Avon Wildlife Trust.
So a team led by Amy Coulthard, director for Nature’s Recovery at the trust, began investigating.
In February, a wildlife group managing a nature reserve on the River Frome in Somerset said they had found beavers had set up home, and this year the Avon Wildlife Trust set up cameras in the area they thought the beavers were living – and sure enough, captured the evidence in stills and on video.
They found a pair of adult beavers had quite the family – a yearling, a kit born in 2020, and this summer three kits have joined the brood.
“We’re not entirely certain how they’ve ended up on the River Avon. We’re only going to know that for sure if we can do DNA testing and match it up with other samples taken from other places,” said Amy.
“But we don’t want to interfere with them too much, so we’re just going to leave them to it. There have been a number of enclosed releases and open releases, most notably in Devon, back to the 2000s, but it is remarkable that they have reached this far.
“I’m absolutely delighted that they are present, because they are bringing so many positives for the environment.
“Beavers are just so fascinating and their ability to hide in plain sight is incredible,” she said.
Avon Wildlife Trust is now going public with the news, and urging people to look out for the signs if they are out and about near a river in the area.
People can report if they have seen signs of beavers in the Avon area on their website.
She said: “A new sighting of wild beavers is extremely significant. Beavers are a keystone species and they have an extraordinary ability to change habitats to suit their needs while creating ecosystems for other species to thrive.
“The presence of this beaver population will support other wildlife and help us to tackle the ecological emergency.”
The specific location of the beavers is not being divulged as the trust does not want lots of people turning up to disturb them.