Beaver Trust

YouTube video by Beaver Trust Balancing The Scales

Watch the full documentary Balancing the Scales which this animation is taken from for FREE online now and explore the complex relationship between beavers and migratory fish👇
www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4yE... [5/5]

We don't just need the structures beavers create. We need the beavers themselves. This is why we believe species restoration should be seen as an essential part of catchment restoration strategies. [4/5]

Many restoration projects try to replicate this process using beaver dam analogues or engineered log jams. These structures can be effective, but require regular maintenance. Beavers do this work for free. In an active territory, damaged dams are usually repaired within 48hrs. [3/5]

Beaver dams in incised streams act as powerful catalysts for river recovery, helping reconnect channels to their floodplains, slow water flows, and boost natural water storage. In doing so, they create rich, diverse habitats that support a wide range of freshwater wildlife. [2/5]

Did you know that beavers can achieve one of the hardest parts of river restoration work reconnecting a waterway to its floodplain, in some cases faster than humans can. Hear Dame Joanna Lumley explain how beaver damming can restore incised streams. [1/5]

Poster submissions for Beavers Across Britain are open! Have you got research to share? This is your chance! We provide the board; you bring the poster, buy a ticket and attend. Organised by Beaver Trust, supported by Cairngorms National Park and Forestry England. 👇
https://ow.ly/j5Mu50Y5iBK

Beavers are rounder and stockier than the smaller coypu. A white silhouette of a coypu is overlayed over a black silhouette of a beaver

Beaver Ecology: Beavers are native to Britain and are known as “ecosystem engineers.” due to their dam building behaviour. They help create and increase wetland environments, regulate water levels, and support increased biodiversity. Beavers live in close-knit family groups that typically include a breeding pair, their current offspring, and yearlings from the previous season. They are highly territorial and often mark their boundaries with scent mounds. Beavers usually produce one litter each year.

Coypu ecology Coypu are an invasive non-native species. Their extensive burrowing and heavy grazing on wetland plants can damage riverbanks, dikes, and irrigation systems. Coypu are very social animals, forming groups of two to thirteen individuals made up of related females and a single male. They are less territorial than beavers, although females may defend their dens. Coypu reproduce rapidly and can have up to three litters annually.

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Coypu Coypu are rodents that also live in wetland habitats. Their tails are long and thin, and they are much smaller than a beaver. They live in South America, although there are invasive populations throughout Europe and North America. A photo of a coypu nibbling on some food, both front paws to its mouth

Beavers have brown snouts with dark whiskers, Coypu have lighter snouts, with prominent white whiskers. Two photos of beavers, one in the water, mostly submerged except for it's nose, eyes, ears and upper back. One is wading through shallow water, surrounded by grass and reeds. Two photos of coypu, one facing the camera on a grassy bank, one of a pair facing left in some grass

Beavers have wide flat tails with grey-ish scales, coypu have thin, rounded tails with dark brown hairs. Two photos of beaver, one is a family of three beaver being released from a crate into the wild, the other is a closeup of a beaver tail. Two photos of coypu, one top down image of a coypu in the water, another of two coypu on a grassy bank

Coypu noses are blunt and forward-facing, with quite round nostrils. Beaver noses look more like a dog’s; they are rounded and you can see the nostrils from the side of the face. A white illustration of a beaver nose, and a photo of beaver, facing the camera. A white illustration of a coypu nose, and a coypu facing the camera

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Beaver or coypu? How to tell the difference. Image of a young beaver swimming, and a coypu in the grass

As beavers return to mainland Britain, they’re becoming more popular in the media. This is great news, however, they’re often confused with coypu, and inaccurate images can quickly spread misinformation. It’s not just scientists that need to be able to identify beavers. Anyone can mistakenly share inaccurate images. Even AI can get confused, with many AI generated “beaver” images on social media featuring coypu features. A mock up of a newspaper with an image of a Coypu under the headline "Beavers return to Britain!" sits in the corner of the page. A red stamp that says "Not a beaver" has been stamped on the cover. A list of people who could mistakenly share inaccurate images is at the bottom: Journalists, Authors, Science communicators, General public, Photographers, Content creators, Artists, Scientists, Film-makers

A selection of photos of coypu, on grass and near water. All of these coypu had been mislabelled as beavers on stock photo sites.

Beaver Beavers are the second largest rodent in the world. They have wide, flat, paddle-shaped tails and live in wetland habitats. They build dams and lodges, and are strictly herbivorous, eating plant matter, including bast - a woody material. A photo of a beaver facing left, surrounded by reeds, sniffing the air

Do you know the difference between a beaver and a coypu? They may look similar, but they’re from opposite sides of the world. Often, photos of coypu are misidentified as beavers in the media. Once you know the difference, see if you can spot them. [1/3]

#mammals #wildlife #beavers

Beavers are back at Mapperton Estate! After a short stay at Flamingo Land, Chip and Willow were released just in time for Christmas.

To find out more about Chip and Willow’s release, watch Mapperton’s full video👇

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyUBwwdFDVQ

Beavers can have positive impacts in farmed systems, such as water availability in drought & flood risk reduction, but where management may be required, we can provide evidence-led, practical support.

You can get in touch with us by emailing info@beavertrust.org.

Around 70% of mainland Britain is farmed 🌾 which is why working closely with farmers and landowners is essential for successful beaver restoration.

Open, pragmatic conversations are key, which is why we value attending events like #OFC26 and #ORFC2026.

Donate - Beaver Trust Together we can restore beavers and regenerate our landscapes You can support beavers by making a one-off or monthly donation to support Beaver Trust’s work. In the face of biodiversity loss, flooding...

We love the enthusiasm! It may not sound huge at first, but £60,000 goes a long way and directly supports our restoration work.
If you would like to encourage further donations, we're running another match-funded campaign in April, and accept donations through our website: beavertrust.org/donate/

Hi Tom, thank you for your question, we're glad to hear you enjoyed our film. Please can you email restoration@beavertrust.org with more information regarding your local beaver family, so we can follow up with you directly?

If you want to find out more about our work, check out our website beavertrust.org and our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSxw.... [4/4]

#addMam

At Beaver Trust, we facilitate beaver releases at licensed sites. Beavers play an important role in flood defence and act as a keystone species, creating new habitats where wildlife thrives. Through careful management, we aim to restore beavers to regenerate our landscape. [3/4]

The holding facility allows the team to monitor the beavers, and specialist wildlife veterinarian Romain Pizzi can perform health checks and screenings, ensuring the beavers are in tip-top shape before release. [2/4]

Spend a minute with our beaver family!
Our specialist holding facility at Five Sisters Zoo helps us manage beavers in Britain. It has been a temporary home to many beavers, acting as a stopover when relocating between release sites across Scotland, England and Wales. [1/4]

From reduced flood damage to improved water availability and new diversification opportunities, Tom’s story shows what living alongside beavers can look like on Britain’s farmland.

Read the full blog 👇
beavertrust.org/guest-blog-l...

In our latest guest blog, Tom reflects on four years of living and managing land alongside beavers, sharing the practical challenges, environmental gains and business benefits of coexistence.

Argaty was only the second authorised beaver translocation site in Scotland, following the official trial at Knapdale.

Beaver Trust supported the translocation, helping to bring beavers back to their working livestock farm.

Living alongside beavers

In 2021, farmer and land manager Tom Bowser led a pioneering effort at Argaty Red Kites in central Scotland, becoming the first private landowner to release beavers onto his family’s land under licence.

Beaver biology - Beaver Trust the second largest rodent in the world Learn about the biology of a beaver What are beavers? Beavers are large rodents with adaptations for the aquatic environment: They have short limbs and their hin...

If ponds freeze, beavers can be restricted beneath the ice. They swim familiar routes from the lodge to their food stores, and maintain access holes by pushing down on thin ice, or pushing up and gnawing on thick ice.

More info: beavertrust.org/beaver-basics/beaver-biology/ [2/2]

Break into the New Year like a beaver through ice!

Happy New Year, we hope you enjoyed a well earned break.
While we’ve been indoors, Britain’s beavers experienced cold conditions. They’re adept at coping with the icy weather, having evolved a remarkable set of behaviours. [1/2]

A big year for beavers 🦫

From supporting the first wild beaver release in England to expanding our education programme. 2025 has been a year of real progress

These steps bring us closer to restoring Britain's beaver population.

Thank you to all our supporters, we couldn’t do this without you

The return of beavers to the Cairngorms National Park has been led by @cairngormsnews.bsky.social, working closely with partners, land managers, and local communities. [4\4]

Our team is confident the animals will thrive and deliver biodiversity benefits here, thanks to the abundance of suitable habitat identified through our modelling of the Spey catchment with the @exeter.ac.uk and we look forward to seeing the changes this family brings. [3/4]

This marks another exciting step in establishing a wild population in the Spey catchment, as granted under licence from @naturescot.bsky.social and in realising the vision set out in Scotland’s Beaver Strategy. [2/4]

Another beaver family returns to the Cairngorms 🦫🌲
Last Friday, our team was delighted to release another beaver family at Wildland's site in the Cairngorms National Park. The beaver family had been under specialist care at our holding facility at Five Sisters Zoo. [1/4]

The return of beavers to the Cairngorms National Park has been led by @cairngormsnationalpark, working closely with partners, land managers, and local communities. [4\4]