Six beavers reintroduced to Loch Ness after 500 years

Summarised from 4 outlets · Updated 6 Nov, 00:22 · Archive

A family of six beavers has been released at Loch Ness for the first time in 500 years.

A family of six beavers has been released at a 10,000-acre rewilding estate at Loch Ness for the first time in 500 years. The animals were relocated from Tayside, where they had been creating difficulties for local farmers. They were taken to a specialist facility for health screening before being released on Wednesday at Dundreggan, an estate in Glenmoriston managed by Trees for Life.

The family comprises a mother beaver, two juveniles aged around two years old, and three younger kits born earlier this year. Steve Micklewright, chief executive of Trees for Life, described the reintroduction as a 'very beautiful thing to see'. He observed the animals swimming and behaving calmly, noting they appeared settled immediately. 'The little ones have been swimming around, and those are the ones I've been watching on the side of the loch grooming each other, which is a real sign that they are settling in,' he said.

The release marks the first for the Ness Beaver Project, a partnership between Trees for Life and Beaver Trust that plans to place at least 15 beaver family groups around Loch Ness over the next three years. Beavers' engineering activities, including building dams and canals, can restore and reconnect rivers, wetlands and floodplains. This improves ecosystems, supports other wildlife, and helps manage climate impacts such as droughts, wildfires and flooding.

Trees for Life plans to offer guided tours for visitors to spot the beavers and observe how they transform the landscape.

How it is being reported

• Beaver family reintroduced to iconic Scottish loch 500 years after last sighting - 'A very beautiful thing to see!'A family of beavers has been released into waters surrounding Loch Ness, marking the species' return half a millennium after they were last spotted there. The animals were released on Wednesday at a lochan within Trees for Life's Dundreggan rewilding estate, a 10,000-acre site in Glenmoriston, after NatureScot licensed their relocation from elsewhere in Scotland. The release marks the first step of the Ness Beaver Project, a joint initiative by Trees for Life and Beaver Trust that both organisations have described as a "major milestone for nature recovery in Britain". Under the scheme, a…GB News · 6 Nov, 02:08
• Beavers reintroduced to waters around Loch Ness for the first time in 500 yearsBosses at charity Dundreggan Rewilding Centre have expressed their joy at reintroduction of beavers - a family of six to be precise - to the waters around Loch NessThe Mirror · 6 Nov, 00:05
• Beavers make historic return to Loch Ness after 500 yearsThe beavers were relocated to Loch Ness from another part of Scotland and released on WednesdayThe Independent · 6 Nov, 00:01
• Return of the Loch Ness... beaver! Creatures released on Highland estate 500 years after they were hunted to extinctionA family of six beavers has been reintroduced to waters around Loch Ness where the species was last seen 500 years ago before being hunted to extinction.Daily Mail · 5 Nov, 23:59

In this story: Trees for Life · Beaver Trust · Loch Ness · Dundreggan · Glenmoriston · Tayside · Steve Micklewright · NatureScot

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