Baby beaver born in Northumberland estate for first time in more than 400 years

A baby beaver has been born on a Northumberland estate for the first time in more than 400 years, the National Trust has announced.

The small aquatic mammal is thought to have been born in late May on the Wallington Estate.

It comes just a year after a family of Eurasian beavers were released into a large enclosed area on the 5,431 hectare National Trust site.

The Wallington team has been waiting for confirmation of the baby beaver’s birth – known as a kit – since they spotted a heavily pregnant female in May.

Recent footage captured on static cameras placed within the enclosure shows the kit heading back into the family lodge with its mother as well as taking a dip into the water.

The beavers were released on the Wallington estate last year (National Trust)

Helen McDonald, the National Trust’s lead ranger on the estate, described the birth as a “relief” after the beavers faced the challenge of adapting to their new home and surviving one of the UK’s wettest winters on record.

She said: “We are thrilled that after an absence of around 400 years we now have beavers back and breeding at Wallington.

“They have put a lot of effort into building and maintaining their lodges and getting their family settled, showing great perseverance and resilience during their relocation and then during the floods we’ve had over the last year.

“We’ll continue to monitor the family to check on their health and condition and follow the new kit’s progress.”

A team of over 25 National Trust volunteers worked alongside the charity’s ranger team in preparing for the Wallington reintroduction.

They have since helped to look after the beavers, conducting twice-weekly fence inspections, carrying out emergency repairs and supporting the monitoring of the animals.

Beavers were once native in Britain but were hunted to extinction in the 16th century, though they have made a return to the wild in some parts of the country.

The National Trust has been releasing beavers into large enclosures on its land since 2019.

The mammals are “ecosystem engineers” who restore wetland habitats through dam-building and felling trees, slowing, storing and filtering water in the landscape.

The beavers came through one of the wettest winters on record (National Trust)

This attracts other wildlife and reduces flooding downstream, making the environment more resilient to the effects of climate change.

The Wallington beavers have been building a dynamic system of dams, canals and burrows on the estate over the last 12 months, the team said.

These have been slowing the flow of water through the enclosure, allowing it to spill out and create ponds, deep pools and mudscapes, which cover an area similar to half a football pitch.

The resulting wetlands are already having a significant impact boosting biodiversity along the river corridor, the National Trust said.

The changing water levels have produced a wetland ecosystem which is attracting a range of wildlife species, with a noticeable increase in resident trout as well as more frequent visits from kingfishers, grey herons and Daubenton’s bats.

The population of white-clawed crayfish are also being monitored by Newcastle University and the Environment Agency in the area to study the positive impact the beavers have on the crustaceans, which are in rapid decline in the UK.

It is the first birth on the estate in 400 years, experts say (National Trust)

Paul Hewitt Countryside Manager for the National Trust at Wallington, said: “Since welcoming the family of beavers to Wallington the resulting impact on the water environment has been nothing short of astonishing.

“As a keystone species we have watched with keen interest as beavers do what beavers do, expertly altering their river environment to the massive benefit of other species.

“As a stark reminder of our changing climate, the release of the beavers here, coincided with the wettest 18 months ever recorded in England.

“Despite many winter storms with near record river levels recorded, the beavers have continued to thrive.”

The National Trust partnered with the Beaver Trust, who carried out the translocation under licence from Nature Scot and Natural England, with funding provided by the Reece Foundation.