Eurasian beaver

Britain is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, but we can help turn the tide by reintroducing species that have been missing from our landscape – sometimes for hundreds of years. The Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) went extinct in Scotland around 400 years ago but today beavers are back bringing benefits and challenges.

Beavers are ecosystem engineers, changing the landscape around them and providing habitat for many other species. The iron in their teeth allows them to cut down trees, which they use to build dams and lodges, changing water levels to give them access to other areas and creating wetland habitat in the process.

Beavers are currently found in several parts of Scotland as a result of licensed reintroduction projects (for example Knapdale and the Cairngorms) and illegal releases (like Tayside). One of the biggest challenges for beaver conservation in Scotland currently is mitigating conflict between beavers and landowners in unlicensed release areas and ensuring long-term viability of the beaver population.  

RZSS has been working with beavers in Scotland since 2009, as a lead partner in both the Scottish Beaver Trial and the Scottish Beavers reinforcement in Knapdale. We conducted the first authorised reintroduction of beavers to Scotland and provided field, veterinary and genetics expertise to the projects.

Today, we remain involved in beaver conservation via our input into Scotland’s Beaver Strategy and our membership of the Scottish Beaver Advisory Group and the Cairngorms Beaver Group. We continue to publish our work on the conservation genetics of beavers and our vet team is actively involved in welfare discussions to ensure that beavers survive and thrive in Scotland.