Beavers help prevent flooding on the River Tay, Scotland
A recent article published in Freshwater Biology (also see Bibliography page) based on 13 years of study demonstrates that beaver dams on the River Tay help prevent flooding and improve local habitats. This study counters the claim by landowners in Alyth, Perthshire that beaver activity contributed to the flooding in the village. The debate about…
Landowners on Tayside in Scotland shoot breeding female beavers
Scientists at Edinburgh Zoo have carried out post-mortem investigations on 23 beavers from Tayside, Scotland. Of the 21 shot, two were in late pregnancy and two had recently given birth. This has raised welfare concerns about how beavers should be managed (BBC News, The Scotsman, Granset, The News Hub, UK Daily). The Scottish Government has…
2nd beaver kit filmed at Kapdale
The Scottish Beaver Trial has released film of a second beaver kit at Knapdale.…
New beaver kit filmed at Knapdale Forest in Argyll, Scotland
Film of a young beaver kit exploring the top of its lodge at Knapdale, where beavers have been officially released, has been released by the Scottish Beaver Trial. This is encouraging news and shows that the beavers are still breeding at the site. Although the 5-year trial ended earlier this year, an education ranger is…
Report on Beavers in Scotland sent to Scottish Government Ministers
Scottish Natural Heritage sent the final report on Beavers in Scotland to Scottish Government Ministers this month. The report summarising 20 years of work on beavers in Scotland (including the official trial at Knapdale, the Tayside Beavers Study Group, the Beaver-Salmonid Working Group and a range of other studies on beavers) will help inform the…
Wild beavers on the River Otter in SW England have bred
At least one of the two adult female beavers living wild on the River Otter in Devon has had two (or possibly more) young, called kits. Recent film taken by local film-maker Tom Buckley can be seen on the BBC News website and shows the mother guiding the young through the water (also see CBBC,…
Beavers on the River Tay in Scotland appear to be doing well
A report published by the Tayside Beaver Study Group in April 2015 indicates that more than 150 beavers are living in the River Tay and River Earn catchments in Scotland (see BBC News Scotland). The beavers are of Eurasian origin, rather than the North American species, and have been in the Tayside area since 2006…
River Otter Beaver Trial – update
On the evening of Monday 23rd March, the Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT) released three beavers back onto the River Otter in East Devon, marking the official start of the River Otter Beaver Trial (see post on January 28th 2015). A total of 9 beavers had been living wild in the River Otter, in two separate…
More reports on the Scottish beaver trial published
A news release today states that four new SNH monitoring reports on the Scottish beaver trial have been published. The reports cover monitoring the ecology of beavers and other riparian mammals, potential impacts of beavers on lichens and two species of Odonata, and how beaver activity might affect the fluvial geomorphology and habitat of the streams and rivers…
Beavers on the River Otter to remain for a 5 year trial period
The UK Government agency, Natural England has confirmed today that they will issue a licence to Devon Wildlife Trust for the managed release of beavers into the wild on the River Otter in Devon, England. There will be a range of conditions attached to the licence including confirmation that the beavers already present on the River are…
Beavers in England