New report published on Argyll’s trial beavers

The latest report looking at the trial reintroduction of beavers at Knapdale in Argyll has been published by independent monitors of the trial, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH).

The report sets out findings from the fourth year of ecological monitoring, up to spring 2013, in the five-year Scottish Beaver Trial (SBT). It is part of the SBT independent monitoring work being co-ordinated by SNH and will contribute to the wider programme of work being produced for the trial. The report presents the interim findings from this work. The monitoring phase of the trial concluded at the end of May 2014 and the final report, which will help Scottish Government decide on the longer term future of beavers in Scotland, is due to be published in December 2014.

The trial is run by the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), on land managed by Forestry Commission Scotland. Since their release, SNH has been closely monitoring the beavers and their effects on the environment, in partnership with several other independent organisations.

The 15 beavers released in the first year of the trial formed five families, or pairs, and one further animal was released in year two of the trial. By June 2013, eight of the released beavers were thought to still be alive and present in the trial area, five having gone missing and three, all males, were known to have died.

Fourteen beavers are also known to have been wild-born at Knapdale by June 2013, five of which have gone missing.

The remaining beavers, which remain in four distinct family groups, appear to be healthy and have mostly put on weight since their release. The groups’ combined territory covers an area of 423 hectares, about the size of 120 football pitches, with one beaver family per 4 km of waterway edge. The report finds no evidence that the beavers have had any negative impact on otters in the area.