Tag: Beaver Trust

Beaver born at Five Sisters Zoo is thriving in Northumberland

A short film has been released by Beaver Trust and Five Sisters Zoo telling the behind-the-scenes story of a beaver kit’s birth at the Zoo and successful release at National Trust’s Wallington Estate, highlighting the work of those involved who went above and beyond to make it happen.

In July this year a family of four Eurasian beavers were successfully released on the National Trust’s Wallington Estate in Northumberland as part of plans to boost wildlife and increase the landscape’s resilience to a changing climate.

It was reported that two adult beavers and two young had been successfully relocated from wild populations in the River Tay catchment in Scotland to their new home in a 24-hectare fenced enclosure on a tributary of the River Wansbeck. The adult female was, in fact, found to be pregnant when she was trapped in Scotland and taken into Beaver Trust’s holding facilities at Five Sisters Zoo.

What followed was a series of careful health checks, sensitive care, and detailed monitoring to ensure the female and her family were calm and comfortable to give the unborn beaver kit the best chance.

The team worked to create a bespoke habitat at Five Sisters Zoo, where the beaver family would have plenty of space and enrichment while awaiting the birth of the kit.

Dr Roisin Campbell-Palmer, Head of Restoration at Beaver Trust, said: “The fact that we have a healthy young kit that has been born and raised by its family relatively normally, and is now acting naturally in its new home, is a testament to everyone involved at Beaver Trust and Five Sisters Zoo prioritising the family’s welfare and working extremely hard to keep the whole process, from trapping and transport to monitoring, to the care in captivity, sufficiently low stress.

“I’m really proud to have been a part of it.”

Gary Curran, Head Carnivore Keeper at Five Sisters Zoo, said: “We were delighted to experience this first in our zoo’s history, and to be part of this incredible journey for these beavers.

“We have taken what was a more unusual, very hands-off approach than we usually would to ensure the female and her unborn kit had the best possible chance of survival and were delighted when the kit was safely born in our enclosure.”

Dr Romain Pizzi, Independent Specialist Wildlife Veterinarian, said: “We knew as soon as we discovered that the female was expecting this would be a different challenge than we initially expected but it couldn’t have gone better.

“Ensuring the health of the whole family, including the newborn kit was crucial and we look forward to seeing them thrive now in their new surroundings”

With the kit looking strong and healthy, the family were transported down to Northumberland where they were released on July 12th. Footage from the estate shows that the beavers are settling in well and already beginning to transform their surroundings as hoped.

Paul Hewitt, Countryside Manager at the National Trust, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to the teams at the Beaver Trust and Five Sisters Zoo who took such great care of the whole beaver family while we waited for their release here at Wallington.

“The news that the kit was born safe and well was wonderful and made the anticipation of release day even more special. They’ve been here for 4 months now and are all happy and healthy, having settled in brilliantly.

“They’re already making changes to the landscape and we’re really looking forward to seeing what they do over the coming months and years.”

The Wallington Estate was the location for the conservation charity’s third beaver release, following successful introductions on Exmoor in 2020 and the South Downs in 2021. The release was the first to take place in Northumberland, with the animals becoming one of the very few beaver populations in northern England.

The beavers form part of a bigger project called Wilder Wallington that is designed to improve prospects for nature across the 5,300-hectare estate and beyond.

Other plans include encouraging the migration of pine martens, restoring hedgerows and areas of peatland, planting trees, tackling invasive non-native species, supporting farmers to incorporate nature into their business plans and alleviating flooding. The reintroduction of beavers at Wallington was generously funded by the Reece Foundation.

The film can be viewed online on Beaver Trust’s Youtube Channel and at The Wallington Estate’s visitor centre and cafe.

British beavers face fragile future

Britain’s beavers could be major allies in tackling the climate and extinction crises – but without more public and government support face a fragile future, says Beaver Trust as it launches a new documentary film exploring the country’s relationship with the endangered but controversial species.

The charity’s short film, Beavers Without Borders, explores the benefits and challenges of reintroducing beavers to Britain’s landscapes. It hopes the documentary, launching on YouTube on 15 November, will appeal to a wide audience and promote discussions around ensuring a better future for the species.

“It’s a critical time for beavers, with the UK Government deciding on their future in England, and calls for the Scottish Government to allow their relocation in Scotland,”said James Wallace, Beaver Trust’s Chief Executive.

“We hope our film evokes the buzz of life in beaver wetlands, inspires people to welcome beavers back, and helps nurture a reconnection between people and the rest of nature.”

Beavers Without Borders follows science communicator Sophie Pavelle on a journey around Britain’s beaver reintroduction sites – hearing from farmers, anglers, scientists and conservationists about the issues, the importance of community support, and how we might learn to live alongside beavers again.

It highlights how beavers are superb ecosystem engineers, with their small dams creating nature-rich wetlands that support wildlife, absorb carbon dioxide, reduce flooding, and improve water quality. But the animals can have localised impacts on agricultural land too.

Now back in Britain after being hunted to extinction over four centuries ago for their meat, fur and oil, beavers remain at risk as a wild species.

The Scottish Government last year declared Scotland’s beavers a protected species. But it still doesn’t allow relocations within Scotland, and says beavers can only spread naturally from their current ranges in Argyll and Tayside – despite having identified over 100,000 hectares of suitable habitat elsewhere, and many landowners being ready to welcome the animals and their biodiversity-boosting activities.

Although some Scottish beavers are relocated to England, the current block on their relocations within Scotland leaves Tayside farmers with little option but to apply for a licence to kill the animals when they damage crops. Last year, 87 beavers – a fifth of the population – were shot.

The UK Government decided this summer that England’s first breeding wild beavers for 400 years could remain in Devon, following the River Otter trial that highlighted their benefits. Elsewhere in England, beavers are being introduced in enclosed areas – but the Government has yet to recognise beavers as native, or provide a licensing and management system allowing beaver releases in the wild.

Beaver Trust says the Government’s national strategy and funding to protect and manage wild beavers should be informed by the lessons learnt by people involved in or affected by reintroductions.

Those sharing their experiences and expertise in the Beavers Without Borders film include Devon-based farmer, ecologist and author Derek Gow – a key figure in UK beaver reintroductions.

“This wonderful film illustrates succinctly the critical importance of the beaver for nature recovery. Without the assistance of this creature’s fabled engineering skill sets, it is impossible to imagine a future where nature can begin to recover itself.

“By returning the beaver to Britain’s impoverished wetland environments, we are blessing them with the ability to heal themselves,” said Derek.

While beavers on floodplains can cause local problems for farmers, Germany’s Gerhard Schwab explains how people in Bavaria have learnt to co-exist with, and benefit from, the species – including through incentives for farmers to include buffer strips free of cultivation or chemicals along rivers.

At Aberfeldy in Highland Perthshire, Sophie meets Dr Roisin Campbell-Palmer, who works to resolve beaver-related tensions between communities and landowners in Tayside – including by trapping and relocating beavers as an alternative to culling, and through simple mitigation measures.

In Dunkeld, angler Duncan Pepper explains how beavers’ activities in Tayside have improved conditions for river-dwelling fish and so boosted Atlantic salmon populations.

Chris Jones of Woodland Valley Farm – home of the Cornwall Beaver Project – shows how releasing beavers into enclosed areas three years ago has boosted birds, dragonflies and other wildlife.

James Wallace, who is also the film’s executive producer, said: “Policies, education and funds are needed to help us all learn to live alongside these remarkable but sometimes troublesome animals – with the voices of people living in and managing our landscapes heard, incentives for community-led river restoration, and support to promote acceptance of beavers”.

The film’s writer and director Nina Constable said: “Filming Beavers Without Borders, and meeting individuals dedicated to restoring our natural world, has been an incredible experience.

“Hopefully the film will raise awareness about what we can do right now to give nature a helping hand, while debunking some myths surrounding beavers and offering hope at a time when we all need it.”

A free live YouTube premiere of the film, followed by a live question and answer session with Nina Constable and Sophie Pavelle, will be held online tomorrow – Sunday 15 November from 7pm – 8pm.

To register for the event and view the documentary’s official trailer, visit 

https://bit.ly/366N2Zg.

Beavers Without Borders has been supported by The European Nature Trust, Hagan Family Foundation, and SCOTLAND: The Big Picture.

Beaver Trust is a charitable alliance helping communities build resilience to climate change, recover wildlife and reconnect with nature by restoring our rivers with beavers. See beavertrust.org.