It has been a bumper summer for beavers, with newborns recorded in Northumberland, Kent, the Cairngorms and now London, highlighting the success of a recent drive to reintroduce the native mammal to the UK.
Four new beaver kits have been spotted at an enclosure in London, bringing the family total to seven.
They are the first baby beavers to be born in the city for 400 years, after the native mammal was hunted to extinction in the 16th century.
The new arrivals were caught on camera at a six-hectare enclosure near Forty Hall Estate in Enfield, where a project to reintroduce beavers to London (a collaboration between Enfield Council and Capel Manor College) has been ongoing since 2022.
“The arrival of the kits highlights the success of our collaboration and the dedication of our staff and students,” says Meg Wilson, Animal Collection Manager at Capel Manor College.
“Monitoring and documenting the positive impact of the beavers is providing invaluable hands-on learning opportunities and underscores the critical role of biodiversity and natural habitat restoration.
“We look forward to witnessing the growth of the kits and their future contribution to the transformation or the local ecosystem.”
The kits spotted in Enfield are the latest in a series of sightings across the UK.
Earlier this month, two kits were born in the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland after a coordinated effort to re-establish the species in the area.
“There are also encouraging signs of breeding behaviour at other locations – including evidence of them busily expanding their lodges – so we are hopeful that there will be more kits to come,” says Sarah Henshall, Head of Conservation at the Cairngorms National Park Authority.
Meanwhile, in July, camera traps caught a glimpse of a beaver kit playing in the water with its mother at Wallington Estate in Northumberland.
There are now believed to be about 1,500 beavers in Scotland and up to 800 in England.
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