Beavers make an unwelcome return after 250 years
By David Langton
Published: 30 April 2007
It is more than 250 years since beavers last roamed the waterways of Scotland. But despite the best efforts of the authorities to prevent a return, the wild beaver has made an unscheduled comeback in rural Perthshire.
A pair of the amphibious rodents have been found living in a lodge on the banks of a fisheries loch, almost certainly after having been released by well-meaning beaver-lovers.
Unfortunately the find appears to have generated as much anger as enthusiasm. The beaver's prodigious ability to gnaw through most material obstacles and block waterways with their dams has earned them a formidable array of human enemies.
In the past, proposals have been put forward to return beavers to the wild but have been blocked by farmers fearing damage to their land and stock.
Edwin Blake, Edinburgh Zoo's head keeper, has been tasked with reviving the forgotten art of beaver-trapping. He said: "Frankly releasing them was just stupidity as well as being illegal. If you are going to release these animals then it has to be part of a properly controlled and monitored experiment. These would be captive animals and it's not fair to dump them in the countryside."
The beaver, pursued for its pelt, is believed to have been hunted to the brink of extinction in Britain by the mid-18th century. Although some of the largely nocturnal vegetarians exist in enclosures on private Highland estates and in the Highland Wildlife Park, releases into the wild are banned.
When the Scottish Executive found out earlier this year that the beavers had set up home on the loch, Mr Blake was dispatched to capture them alive, beginning work on 2 April.
Almost a month into the gruelling task, which has seen him working in freezing, wet conditions, he has managed to trap one of the beavers using a metal cage baited with apples, carrots and turnips.
He said: "We floated some out in the loch on string near to where we thought the beavers came ashore so we could see from the teeth mark what animal we were dealing with. Then we baited the metal traps and covered the floor with natural vegetation, a beaver has sensitive feet and it would have suspected something wrong if it stepped on cold metal.
"And you can't expect to trap it straight away. They have to get used to the bait being around."
Mr Blake expressed surprise at having caught one of his quarry within a week, but the search for the elusive second beaver has proved more troublesome. He said: "There have been no new signs of beaver activity since we caught the first one so it may be that it has moved on somewhere else."
Meanwhile his captured friend has been taken to Edinburgh Zoo where scientists are still trying to determine the sex, clearly a more complicated task than one would at first assume.
But if the second animal does evade Mr Blake he, or she, may not be alone for much longer as Scottish Natural Heritage are pushing for eventual re-introduction. Stuart Brookes, head of conservation for the Scottish Wildlife Trust, said: "Beavers are very much back on the agenda."
