PREVIEW

Beavers have been captured on camera on the famous Longleat estate in Wiltshire for the first time. Footage of the beavers, added to the European Protected Species List in 2022 shows them building dams, lodges, and satellite lodges across the estate boosting biodiversity. Conservation and Research Manager, Dr Tom Lewis, says the estate now has three breeding territories since the beavers arrived on the estate three years ago. “Longleat is brimming with native wildlife, and beavers are one of the crown jewels. We assumed they have been breeding here, and we’ve seen lots of feeding activity. At first, our cameras picked up squirrels, herons, Canadian geese and even a fawn; but we then captured beavers repairing one of the lodges. We were really excited when we spotted a lactating female as we knew that meant there were kits and when we checked the cameras again and found her with kits, it was quite incredible and a very rare sight.” Beavers are ecosystem-engineers, says Tom, and in one territory what started as a small stream, now has several ponds created by the building of dams. It is illegal to interfere with the beavers’ lodges and dams created by beavers and Longleat is not sharing precise locations of the breeding territories to protect them.