Beavers – a year in Dorset

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Dorset Beaver Project Beavers enclosed site before the beavers arrived (Steve Oliver, Dorset Wildlife Trust)

A year ago, Dorset Wildlife Trust brought beavers back to the county for the first time in at least four centuries for an enclosed scientific study into the changes they have made in a landscape. Here we look back on what we’ve learnt from these amazing animals so far. Observing the beavers’ behaviour has been achieved using trail cameras, capturing their secretive night-time habits, which otherwise would have been impossible to see.

Dorset Beaver Project Beavers enclosed site after one year (Steve Oliver, Dorset Wildlife Trust)

Throughout the year, they have built four dams at the project site. They got started on their first dam within just three days of moving in, indicating that they had settled well and were keen to engineer the landscape to suit their needs and make themselves at home. Amazing trail camera footage has shown them gathering twigs and branches and using their mouths to pull these into place, building up the structures which create deep pools where the beavers feel safe. In just one year, they have created a wetland with leaky dams holding back water creating deep ponds and dynamic channels with diverse water flow. In partnership with Exeter University and Wessex Water, we are monitoring water quality, water flow and changes in biodiversity. This data will give us important insights into what it means to have beavers back in our local landscape.

As we look to the next year, there is potential that the pair of beavers might breed. It’s too early to know at this stage whether the family will expand – the Eurasian beaver’s mating season is between late December and the end of January, with any young beavers (kits) born in spring before emerging from the lodge for the first time in early summer. We will of course be keeping a keen eye on the trail cam footage for any signs of new additions to the project.

Find out more about the project at dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/BeaverProject

Read the original article from 2021 at https://www.countryside-jobs.com/article/2021-03-02-beavers-are-back-in-dorset