Busy beavers have been settling into their new homes across the Cairngorms for almost a year now — but how have they been getting on since being released?
This time last year, there hadn’t been beavers in the Cairngorms for 400 years.
This all changed on December 18, 2023, when the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) released a pair of beavers in Rothiemurchus.
And even more beavers have successfully been released at sites across the Spey catchment since.
Project manager Jonathan Willet has been finding the release sites, translocating the beavers and monitoring them since.
And while he works closely with the animals, the novelty hasn’t worn off yet.
“It always puts a smile on your face,” he said. “I don’t get to see them that often, so whenever I do, it’s just great. They’re wild animals, and they’re doing their thing, and you know they weren’t here a year ago.”
P&J photographer Jason Hedges and I joined Jonathan for a walk around the new Beaver Trail in Rothiemurchus to find out how the first year of the project has gone so far.
Read on to find out:
- How the beavers have been getting on in the Cairngorms
- What the busy beavers have been up to since being released
- How they are being monitored — and why
- If the animals caused any problems
The Beaver Trail in Rothiemurchus
One beaver family was released at Lochan Mor — also known as the Lily Loch — which is where members of the public can access the Beaver Trail.
Jonathan showed us where the beavers were actually released and laughed as he said he thinks he’s the “only person in Scotland to have been hissed at” by a beaver.
“I lifted the grate, and it kind of stomped around the side of the cage towards me in a grumpy manner,” he explained with a chuckle. “And it hissed, which is not good.
“So I reversed through this juniper bush and everybody was just laughing at me. I was just looking at them like ‘what do I do?’ I’d never encountered that situation before.”
But after the beaver had its say, it left the project manager alone and slipped off into the loch — where it’s been living quite happily since.
And while there’s a good chance you can see the wild animals here, or in other spots across the Cairngorms, Jonathan quickly lowered our expectations for the day.
He told us that beavers are most active at night, so the best chance of actually seeing them is an hour before dusk.
While we may not have seen the toothy rodents this time, Jonathan happily pointed out signs of beaver activity.
How have they been getting on at Lochan Mor?
The beavers have built a lodge on the loch, where they stay cosy during the day and will probably remain for most of the colder winter months.
And Jonathan pointed out that they’ve been building up quite a food store outside the lodge, in preparation for winter and the loch freezing over.
The project manager also happily waded into the loch to look around for examples of beaver activity to show us.
He pulled out gnawed roots, beaver “chips” and branches that had been completely stripped of bark.
As we walked around the loch, we spotted trees that had been felled, or that were in the process of being felled.
But, most exciting of all — Jonathan told us about the two kits have been born in the Cairngorms this year, including one right here in Lochan Mor.
The two kits are the first beavers born in the Cairngorms in 400 years. According to Jonathan, this is a sign that the animals are “healthy, happy and safe” in their new home.
How many beavers have been released in Cairngorms and are more planned?
The beavers have come from the River Tay, but because the animals live in families (which could be as many as six) they all needed to be relocated as a group.
Since the first release in December 2023, 10 beaver pairs or families have been released across the Spey catchment.
After getting the landowner’s permission, the CNPA released the beavers in areas like Rothiemurchus, Wildland, and RSPB Insh Marshes.
Last month, some were released in the quieter bays and lochans on the southern shores of Loch Morlich.
The CNPA does have a licence to release up to 15 pairs or families, meaning next year five more could be released.
And while they haven’t identified any new sites yet, Jonathan says they are currently in negotiations with a couple of landowners — so he is hopeful to firm things up next year.
The reason the CNPA need to release 15 families, or 50 individuals, is because that’s the minimum number needed to establish a new population with enough genetic diversity.
Jonathan explained that beavers are quite territorial animals — which is why only one family has been released at Lochan Mor.
“The thing is, even if the beaver numbers increase they will space themselves out quite a lot,” he added. “And the territories can be bigger or smaller depending on how much food is available.”
What has the reception been like?
As we stand at the loch, looking out towards the impressive-looking lodge others out enjoying the bright, yet chill winter day stopped to chat with Jonathan.
Two horse riders stopped their trek to ask how the beavers were getting on, and were delighted to hear the pair here had bred.
One of the ladies was pleased to hear that the pair at Lochan Mor had bred, and commented: “I think they’re not doing any harm, and it’s a wonderful addition for people to be able to come and see.”
Her companion also shared the same enthusiasm, and said she was surprised they had been released so close to Aviemore.
A group of walkers also stopped, and Jonathan happily showed them the same evidence of beaver activity.
He expertly helped them look through their binoculars to where the lodge is situated on the loch, pointing out their winter food pile.
I was somewhat surprised by just how much of a talking point the beavers seemed to be — and just how excited and interested people seemed to be about them.
And when I told Jonathan he agreed that the “vast majority of people are” interested, and he tries to engage with as many people as possible while out and about.
Have busy beavers caused any issues in the Cairngorms?
Beavers are known for felling trees to strip them of their bark which they eat — alongside other plants — which has caused concern for some of the nearby residents and landowners.
But the team monitors any high-risk areas, for example, where trees are near the roadside or another woodland that has a rare lichen growing there.
Jonathan said there were some trees gnawed close to a road at one of the sites they thought could pose an issue. They kept an eye on it and decided to fell the trees themselves to prevent any danger.
They also put up wires around specific trees that need to be protected, and try to work with landowners to mitigate any issues arising.
Jonathan stressed that the beavers aren’t trying to “clear the area” of trees, and that it’s quite a slow process. He also explained that trees regenerate, so long as the grazing levels aren’t too high, and showed us some regrowth already happening in the area.
He added: “We’re getting the Tay cast back at us, no pun intended.
“But we’re starting from a different point in that we know where we’re releasing them, and also we’re putting a lot of resources into monitoring them, and where they can potentially have an impact.
“Farmers, I think, are understandably nervous, and we’ve got to show that we will walk the talk with our monitoring and mitigation scheme.”
How are they being monitored?
The families are monitored closely by Jonathan, who is being helped by two other rangers.
“We’ve got two weeks of feeding them every day,” he explained. “So we get them to come to the trail cameras, and we use something sweet like carrots to attract them in and get them on camera just to check how many there are, what they’re up to, and are they happy and healthy.
“We do that for two weeks, and then it goes down to three feeds a week for the next four weeks.
“Once we review the footage and are sure everything is fine we stop feeding them basically, and let them get on with it. We don’t intervene after that unless there was an exceptional circumstance.”
Once they are “signed off” as being healthy, behaving normally and uninjured, they are monitored weekly through cameras and by keeping an eye out for beaver activity.
Jonathan said to the best of their knowledge, all the animals seem to doing fine so far.
He added, “As they become more numerous, it’s very difficult to keep track of them. If they’re wandering around, not feeding, and they don’t leave any signs behind, then it’s impossible to know where they’ve been.
“But that’s not necessarily a bad thing — because they’ll explore lots of areas. But once they do settle in an area, you will know where they are because you’ll see signs of feeding activity.”
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