Devon Beaver Project

DWT, thanks to the support of Viridor Credits Ltd and the Truell Charitable Foundation, is running a captive beaver project over the coming years to help find out more about how this long lost riparian mammal can enhance a landscape and its biodiversity. 

Why a beaver project?

Beavers are a vital missing link in the UK’s ecosystem and the wetland environment is suffering from the loss of beaver activity. In principle we support the EU’s call for governments to reintroduce lost endemic species and note that England is one of the few remaining countries not to reintroduce beavers.

However we have no specific plans to reintroduce the beaver into the wild in Devon. We would in principle like to see this come to pass but recognise that a great deal of work would need to be done before it could happen in practice.

The main aim of this project is experimentation and fact finding. It is thought that the beavers will greatly enhance the wetland value of the site and they will in effect be used as a conservation management tool for three years, much as cattle and ponies are. They will be removed from the site once the project is complete.

At the same time, DWT will be developing techniques for measuring the impact the beavers have on the hydrology, biology and water chemistry of the site.

DWT has kept the statutory authorities fully informed of its intentions and has complied with all of their stated requirements.

The site

The site which has been chosen is a self contained 2.8 hectare plot which has been securely fenced in order to contain two beavers. This site is privately owned and located in northern Devon.

DWT has carried out baseline monitoring before introducing the beavers and we will measure changes in the biodiversity, water quality and other impacts.  At the end of the project the results will be fed into the England Beaver Reintroduction Forum.

Can we visit the site?

To ensure disturbance is minimised and for safety reasons, access to the site will be by invitation only. You can see the video below which was taken on their first day on site in March 2011.

March 2012 update

European beavers behave very differently in the winter months and as a result the past six months have seen a dramatic increase in activity and consequent change in habitat. In the first six months the beavers had been feeding mostly on herbs, grasses and leaves. However the last few months has seen them change their focus to woody vegetation and bark.

Their engineering activities have also increased. The site is now a complex mosaic of dams, ponds and canals throughout the length of the main watercourse. This has resulted in significant benefits to the habitats within this designated County Wildlife Site.

Since the beavers were introduced into their enclosure, they have completely transformed the watercourse which runs through the site. A spring creates a small stream which has its source upstream of the enclosure, and this then flows under the fence into the top of the enclosure where it feeds an area of wet woodland. Initially the stream didn’t form a defined channel through this area of woodland, but the combination of new beaver canals and dams has created a network of large new ponds and streams, which have now filled this woodland with standing water.

November 2011 update

In the past few months the beavers have been checked on almost daily and their effect on their local environment has been studied and recorded. There have been some fascinating behavioural observations during this period. The lodge that was installed for them has been modified by the beavers so it can only be accessed from underwater. The beavers have been becoming active at dusk and one of their first activities is grooming before a breakfast of leaves and bark. They are eating a wide range of plants including grasses, sedges, rushes and tall herbs. Small trees have been cut down too by the animals to access leaves and bark although they prefer young succulent stems.

The most fascinating activity has been the beavers' influence on the compound's watercourses. The beavers have transformed the wet flushes, seepages and stream that were present on the site into a network of channels, dams and ponds. This will all support a greater variety of wildlife.