Scotland’s wild beavers build their first lodge

Simon Jones, SBT Project Manager, finds the first beaver lodge to be built in the wild in Scotland for over 400 years.

November 2009. The first beaver lodge to be constructed in the wild for over 400 years has been built in Scotland.

The Scottish Beaver Trial (SBT) Project Manager Simon Jones, who discovered the lodge, said: "We are thrilled to see that one of our beaver families has now constructed their own lodge. This is a fantastic sign that these beavers have settled into the area. They are following their instincts and acting as beavers naturally do. Until now our beaver families have been using burrows along the sides of their release lochs.

35 sq metre lodge
"Our first lodge is an impressive structure, measuring 5 metres long by 2 metres high by 7 metres wide (5x2x7m) in size. Beavers build lodges to shelter in during the day. This provides them with warmth and protection. The lodges usually consist of two chambers, accessed from the loch by an underwater passage. The first chamber is where the beavers spend a few minutes drying off before moving into the large chamber, which is extremely dry and cosy."

A spokesperson for Forestry Commission Scotland, the host partner of the Scottish Beaver Trial, said: "The lodge fits in really well with its surroundings and has been built in a secluded part of the forest.

No access for public to lodge
"There are no designated trails or paths to the site so we would ask people to not try to visit the lodge as any attempts to do so would only disturb the beavers and other wildlife and habitats in the area."

The cost of the Scottish beaver reintroduction has now jumped to £1.8M, up from £850,000 in December 2008. Beavers were released in Scotland - First for 400 years. Credit Scottish Wildlife Trust.

Visit www.scottishbeavers.org.uk to find out more about the Scottish Beaver Trial or to plan your trip to Knapdale. Visitors are advised to visit in the early morning or early evening to get a better chance of seeing beaver or signs of beaver activity

Trial monitoring
Trial staff and volunteers have been closely tracking the beavers' activities and gathering data to help independent Trial monitors, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), measure the impact of the beavers on their surrounding environment, which is one of the Trial's main objectives.

Extortionate cost
The release is for a time-limited trial period and comes after years of lobbying by ecologists and conservation experts who believe that the beaver has been a missing part of our wetland ecosystems since being hunted to extinction in the 16th Century. The Trial is mostly funded thanks to private donations and grants, including up to £1 million from Biffaward and support from People's Postcode Lottery and People's Trust for Endangered Species.

The Scottish Beaver Trial (SBT) is a partnership project run by Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS). Three beaver families were released into Knapdale Forest, Mid-Argyll, in May, marking the first-ever formal reintroduction of a native mammal in the UK.