Beavers are back in Plymouth!
A pair of Eurasian beavers have been released into the re-wilding enclosure at Poole Farm.
The male and female are unrelated orphans from the Tay Catchment in Scotland and have spent the last few months at the Cornwall Seal Sanctuary.
The pair have now been in their new home in Plymouth for four weeks and have already started to make changes to the landscape.
The beaver introduction is part of the Green Minds project, a Plymouth City Council initiative which has overseen a number of urban wilding project across the city and has engaged with communities to help people explore and enjoy the health benefits that nature and our green spaces provide.
The beavers’ behaviour and changes they make to the landscape will be monitored to show how their actions can reduce flooding further downstream and create habitats for wildlife in the Bircham Valley.
A new start
This is not the first time we’ve had beavers in our re-wilding enclosure at Poole Farm. We previously had a pair but after storm damage to the enclosure, one escaped and was sadly hit by a car. The other was then re-homed.
Since then we have strengthened the enclosure and invested in more robust storm gates on the watercourse entrance and exits.
Crucially, we have had visits from national beaver experts, who are positive about the project and have given us the green light to have beavers here again.
We are excited to see the changes they make to the landscape!