Family of seven beavers in Tayside moved to reserve in Loch Lomond
A family of beavers has been moved to Loch Lomond as part of efforts to boost the population of “nature’s engineers” as well as aid biodiversity.
Loch Lomond is only the third location in Scotland where a beaver translocation has taken place since the initial beaver reintroduction trial at Knapdale, in Argyll, began in 2009.
In 2021, the Scottish Government backed translocation, which involves safely trapping and moving the animals to a more suitable area, rather than culling them when they cause problems.
The pair of beavers and their five young offspring were moved from an area in Tayside where beaver activity was having a serious impact.
Following a series of health tests and checks they were released on Friday at the Loch Lomond National Nature Reserve (NNR), which is jointly managed by RSPB Scotland, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority and NatureScot.
Anne McCall, director of RSPB Scotland, said: “We are delighted to have been able to offer a home to this family of beavers, speeding up their return to Loch Lomond.
“The National Nature Reserve, with its mix of open water, fen and wet woodland is a perfect
place for them. As nature’s engineers they manage and create habitat in ways we could never hope to replicate.
“We are looking forward to seeing the many benefits this should bring to other wildlife, from birds to dragonflies, fish to frogs, both on our nature reserve and in the wider NNR.”
The family of beavers underwent health checks and tests at the Five Sisters Zoo, in West Lothian, where the animals were held until the release day.
Both the beavers and habitat
will now be closely monitored to see how they settle in and begin to modify the wetland.
This will include remote monitoring of water levels, using camera traps to directly monitor beavers and mapping field signs of beaver activity.
NatureScot chief executive Francesca Osowska said the release marks “an important step in helping to restore biodiversity and respond to the climate emergency in Scotland”.
The translocation process was managed by The Beaver Trust.