Scottish Wildlife Trust - Discovery of baby beavers shows success of beaver reintroduction in Scotland
Last updated 8/16/2010 12:09:31 PM
Scottish Wildlife Trust - Discovery of baby beavers shows success of beaver reintroduction in Scotland
Conservationists are celebrating the discovery of new-born beavers following the launch of a trial to reintroduce the animal in Scotland.
The first beaver kits - as the young are called - have been spotted in Knapdale Forest, Mid-Argyll as the result of a partnership project between the Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.
They're estimated to be eight weeks old and their sighting marks a positive achievement in the progress of this landmark project. It's the first formal trial reintroduction of a mammal back to the UK.
Christian Robstad, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland's Beaver Field Officer, said: "Seeing the trial's newborn beaver kits was really amazing - this is a huge achievement for the project and for conservation in the UK. It's often difficult to tell if wild beavers are pregnant especially as they are elusive and largely nocturnal animals, but with our adult female beavers at two sites known to be in peak condition, there was a real possibility that kits could follow.
"Increasingly in the last few weeks, staff and volunteers have seen more evidence that there were young around and tracking activities were stepped up. 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."
The first emerged as part of a ‘family outing' with its parents and older sister close by to offer additional protection. It kept close to the edge of the loch and called out to its family for reassurance while it began to learn to forage for food.
Simon Jones, the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Scottish Beaver Trial Project Manager, expalined: "Receiving confirmation of the presence of at least two beaver kits this year in Knapdale is a fantastic step forward for the Scottish Beaver Trial as we can now begin to see how a small reintroduced population starts to naturally establish itself in the wild. Both these beaver families are real trial success stories, having settled into Knapdale very well. 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."
As beaver kits are very small, shy and look very similar to one another, there is a chance that even more kits have been born this year.