BEAVERS
Caught on camera-
trap, indulging in
a little night-time
gnawing – this
beaver chews on the
bark of a willow tree.England,” Mark says. A rousing thought
when much of the country’s wilder state
has been abandoned.
I’ve never thought of beavers as
particularly athletic, lacking the agility of
an otter, for instance. But they redeem
themselves with grit. Mark recollects a
tagged one-year-old female embarking on a
mammoth 50km dispersal from her release
site. Whilst it’s common for two-year-old
beavers to travel long distances between
territories, such a feat of endurance was
unheard of in one so young. Now settled
with a partner and kits, it’s a relatable tale.
When presented with a virtually ‘empty’
catchment, these mammals can afford to
be choosy in where they make their homes.
So, in a valley that covers 250km , how
do you follow wild beavers? The project
took the lead from the Scottish Beaver
Trial, in which annual field surveys during
the beavers’ ‘peak work time’ (January
to March) proved the game changer in
gaining a window into their watery world.
BBC Wildlife 39