Page 12 - Natural World Spring 2017

PEOPLE & WILDLIFE
return to the UK they’d have an
easier time. Their ability to fell trees
and build dams could also have a
positive e ect, slowing floods, and
creating wildlife-friendly pools and
bogs. After a grooming session this
one swam 15 yards upstream and
began to munch loudly through a
bank of Himalayan balsam.
I thought of my mum, who’d had
problems with balsam in her garden,
and pictured me and the beaver
ringing the doorbell on her birthday,
and me telling the beaver to hide
behind the hedge, just to make the
occasion that bit more special.
Whereas otters live in holts,
beavers live in lodges. This is one of
many things I love about beavers. It
tells you what you need to know
Meanwhile,
elsewhere in
Devon...
In 2011, with the help of Devon
Wildlife Trust, two beavers
were released into a fenced
enclosure in the Tamar
headwaters. Their activities
and e ects were studied
closely (see box, right)
12 NATURAL WORLD SPRING 2017
She began
to munch
loudly on
Himalayan
balsam
about them straight away: they’re a
bit fancy, but not too fancy. This
particular beaver’s lodge had been
built in the bank of the river directly considerably less volume.
opposite us, amidst the roots of
overhanging trees. Spotters from
Devon Wildlife Trust had thought
that there were three kits living with
this beaver and her far more
publicity-shy male friend – but six
days after my visit a resident of the
local village took a photo which
clearly showed five kits. Having seen
this, I drove back that evening and,
after sitting on the bank for very little
time at all, I saw two kits swimming
out, following the exact same route
that their mum had the previous
week, climbing the bank and
chomping on the balsam, albeit with
After a quarter of an hour a dog
walker called David arrived. David
has been watching the beavers for
over three years, since before their
presence was even revealed in the
news. “The male never comes out,”
he said. “The female’s very casual
now, though. I held a branch of
willow in the water for her not long
ago and she started to chew it.”