Beavers settling well at Lost Gardens of Heligan

A male beaver which was transported from Wales to its new home in Cornwall is settling in well. Byrti was moved from Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust to the Lost Gardens of Heligan in October after the tourist attraction's own male beaver sadly died. While the resident female beaver, Twiggy, was coping well enough on her own, the staff at Heligan thought she might benefit from some company, especially after the death of her previous companion.

Wildlife coordinator Toby Davies said that three weeks after Byrti was relocated to Cornwall the new pair have been getting on "very well" and were "getting ready for the winter ahead" together. He told the BBC : "I monitor the beavers with camera traps. It is quite difficult to get footage of them together. I think when Byrti came in, Twiggy was a little unsure of him, understandably, because she has been on her own for a while."

He said that at first they each lived separately from each other but as time passed, they got to know each other better. Toby added: "Through the camera traps we keep an eye on body condition as well. If there were signs, they had been fighting, we might have had to rethink things but luckily there was not."

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While Heligan does not run a breeding programme as such, the attraction will welcome any new kits nonetheless should Byrti and Twiggy start mating.

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The Lost Gardens of Heligan introduced beavers on the estate for the animals' known eco engineering skills. Beavers build dams which then trap water, reduce risks of flooding, help retain water at times of drought and also help to attract wildlife such as insects and birds.

Toby added: "Our main aims of having beavers were to try and help reduced flooding in Mevagissey which is sort of down our river catchment. If our beavers didn’t have kits, which are the young, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

“But obviously we would quite like them and it is quite a large enclosure as well so it would be nice to have a family of them down there if I can. Fingers crossed."

Eva Bishop from The Beavers Trust said the pair had been "matched well" as they were similar ages and sizes, adding: The pair’s bonding is really vital, and we have seen lots of mutual grooming and eating together and following each other around which is really lovely."

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