dropped beavers settle after year of ups and downs

What’s Happening

Okay so The BBC speaks to conservationists a year after beavers were dropped at a nature reserve in Dorset.

Dropped beavers settle after year of ups and downs 19 hours ago Save Jon Cuthill South of England environment correspondent Save BBC The beavers were originally dropped at Little Sea on Studland but conflict with a pair already unofficially there forced them out They made history when they were dropped into the wild, unrestricted by fences, onto a Dorset nature reserve in March 2025. At the time it was described Trust as a real “watershed moment in the history of the species”. (yes, really)

After a year of ups and downs, it looks like one of the two licensed pairs of beavers set free has finally settled.

The Details

But after the death of one of the beavers last summer, conservationists continue to search for signs of his mate. If there is one thing conservationists and volunteers have learned over the past 12 months - it is to expect the unexpected.

The beavers are not fitted with trackers so following their progress means hours of searching through trees and wetlands for Gen Crisford and her team Despite years of careful planning for the return of wild beavers to Studland someone, or rather something, got there first. In 2024, a pair of unlicensed animals were found already living at Little Sea lake at the spot picked for the official release.

Why This Matters

It was a discovery that would have lasting consequences for Britains first ever wild release. Stretching 33 hectares (80 acres), Little Sea is a cramped freshwater lake. But despite being dropped away from the established pair, it seems the new arrivals were not made welcome.

The scientific community tends to find developments like this significant.

The Bottom Line

Gary Jacobs Two pairs of beavers were dropped under license into the wild at Studland last year but it has not all been plain sailing Beavers are territorial and the experts think they may have been pushed out of the chosen habitat and forced to find a home elsewhere. But no one quite expected where they would turn up.

What do you think about all this?