First wild beavers born in county in over 500 years

A beaver that moved into a nature reserve has given birth to the first kits born wild in a county for 500 years, according to the park.

Beavers became extinct in Britain in the 16th Century due to overhunting, but in November, Pensthorpe Natural Park in Fakenham, Norfolk, became home to one beaver - thought to be solitary - which was understood to be the first wild beaver in the county for 500 years.

However, camera trap footage in the beaver's lodge later revealed two beavers living together, followed by the two kits.

The park described the arrival of the babies as "an extraordinary moment".

Richard Spowage, the reserve manager at Pensthorpe, said: "When that first beaver appeared last year, none of us could have predicted where this story would lead.

"We went from thinking we had one animal passing through, to discovering a settled pair with an established lodge."

According to Pensthorpe, the original beaver was thought to have moved along the River Wensum before making its home at the nature reserve.

The reserve set up cameras to monitor the creature and observe it in its "substantial" lodge within the wetlands, before they revealed a second beaver.

Its origins and the second adult beaver still remain unknown, said Pensthorpe.

The park said one of the beavers then displayed "strong physical signs consistent with pregnancy".

Spowage said: "To now see two kits on our cameras, growing up wild here in Norfolk, is an extraordinary moment."

Owing to beavers being nocturnal, sightings were extremely rare.

Spowage said the beavers would not be a visitor attraction "or a social media moment".

"They are an important native species which deserve a stable, properly considered and scientifically led future," he added.

"We've deliberately been relatively quiet while a huge amount of work has been taking place behind the scenes."

The adults and their two kits now occupy a remote and inaccessible area of the reserve.

According to Pensthorpe, the gradual return of the beaver to the country has been through licensed reintroductions, alongside the appearance of free-living animals in parts of England.

The nearest reintroduced beavers in Norfolk are at Sculthorpe Moor further up stream the River Wensum in Sculthorpe.

Pensthorpe has not reintroduced any beavers to its site.

Spowage said: "There's something incredibly special about knowing that, somewhere in a quiet corner of this landscape, two beaver kits are now growing up wild in Norfolk.

"Less than a year ago, we didn't know we had a beaver here at all. Now we have a family.

"Moments like this are exactly why long-term habitat restoration and conservation matter."

It is thought some 500 beavers already live in England, some in the wild and others in enclosures.

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