Cornish beavers get new home as part of biodiversity boosting plans
Two Cornish beavers have found their forever home at the 22-acre Lost Gardens of Heligan estate, as part of wider plans to boost biodiversity.
The beavers, who came from the Cornish Seal Sanctuary in Gweek, South Cornwall, have been photographed enjoying the ancient woodland, pasture and small headland streams at the site.
"We're very excited beavers are back at Heligan," says Toby Davies, wildlife co-ordinator at the site. "Having beavers on site will allow us to tell their story to our visitors, from their extinction from Britain 400 years ago, to their vital role today building biodiversity as well as dams wherever they go.
"Though you're more likely to see their trails than their tails, because they're quite secretive animals, so you'll be lucky if you spot one."
The release marks the partnership between Three Bays Wildlife and The Beaver Trust. "This is a moment to celebrate finding a local site with a suitable habitat to receive this pair of beavers to continue their own journeys," Dr Roisin Campbell-Palmer, Head of Restoration at the Beaver Trust, says.
"We're delighted to work in partnership with Heligan to bring learning and beaver knowledge to their visitor audience and to so many local young people. Education is an important part of the reintroduction of this species as we learn to coexist with them again."
The estate will also monitor whether the beavers could help to slow down flash-flooding in local villages. Thanks to their dam building skills, the clever creatures could assist areas such as Mevagissey, which regularly suffers from floods.
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