Three beaver kits born in Wyre Forest enclosure

Three beaver kits born in Wyre Forest enclosure

ByGavin Kermackin the Wyre Forest and Shehnaz KhanWest Midlands

Three beaver kits have been born in a forest as part of a conservation programme.

A family of two adults and four kits were originally moved into a five-hectare woodland enclosure in Worcestershire's Wyre Forest in April 2024, in a programme to reintroduce the species to the wild.

The beavers are said to be thriving and have since added to their brood, with three more kits being born there within the last month.

Forestry England's Richard Boles said they initially thought the female beaver had given birth to only one kit, before video footage revealed there were two more.

He said the beavers had not had a chance to breed in the first year, as females tended to be only receptive for one day each year, normally in January.

"This year, even though there's a lot of water because we've got some substantial dams here, they've managed to breed so we were quite excited when we first saw that the female was pregnant," Boles said. "That was the first exciting bit of news."

'Really ecstatic'

The animals are nocturnal and naturally shy so are rarely seen in action, with cameras installed at the enclosure the only way to capture activity.

Boles said they were sad when they only spotted one kit, but were "ecstatic" after footage of the other two eventually emerged.

"We saw another video clip and this one was the one of the adult beavers swimming across the little pond here with three kits in tow," Boles said.

"So yeah... really ecstatic about that, so very happy."

Eleanor Nash, community ranger at Forestry England, said beaver kits were nursed for about two to three months.

"During that time they are looked after by the whole family, so their older siblings will help to look after them as well and it's quite common for beaver groups to stay in their families for quite a long time," she explained.

"You get beavers who have got older adults in the group as well and they all stay as a family unit."

Flooding reduced

Now a protected species, beavers were once widespread in Britain, but they were hunted to near-extinction by the 16th Century.

A nationwide scheme to reintroduce the animals is being run by Forestry England, in collaboration with Natural England and the Beaver Trust.

The animals in the Wyre Forest have built many dams that help to reduce flooding, since moving into the enclosure, including one stretching 30 metres.

"We've now got probably about eight to ten smaller dams that have been built," Boles added.

"Some of them are really quite small and dinky if you like, so they might be some of the younger beavers that have been doing that."

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