Wildlife Diary 14th August : Beaver News
The Loch of the Lowes ranger team have been carefully monitoring the beavers which arrived on the reserve just over a year ago. We have been assessing their behaviour and impact on the vegetation and other wildlife, in order to add to the Tayside Beaver Study group’s understanding of this Tayside population.
During routine monitoring this week, we found the first evidence of successful breeding by this pair of beavers – the presence of two kits . These would have been born this spring but are only now old enough to follow their mother out of the lodge on foraging expeditions.
The breeding population of beavers in the Tay catchment is thought to have originated from animals that escaped from private collections or were released illegally. In 2012 the Scottish Government decided to monitor the unlicensed Tayside beavers and their impacts, until after the end of the official Scottish Beaver Trial in Argyll, before reaching a decision on their future in 2015. The Tayside Beaver Study Group was established by the Scottish Government for this purpose and the Scottish Wildlife Trust is represented on this group to which it provides expertise and advice.
Please ask the Loch of the Lowes staff for information about how to safely view these beavers. There are some facilities but, in order to protect the animals, it is not possible to approach the lodge.
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Preface
The Loch of the Lowes ranger team have been carefully monitoring the beavers which arrived on the reserve just over a year ago. We have been assessing their behaviour and impact on …