Plymouth male beaver rehomed after mate died

The beavers had been the first in the area for 400 years

A male beaver has been rehomed after his mate was hit by a car and died.

The beavers, named Brian and Beryl, escaped during storms from their enclosure at Poole Farm in Leigham, Plymouth, overnight on 4 July.

Later Beryl's body was found on Forder Valley Road and Brian was captured.

Plymouth City Council said it had been a "very difficult decision" but the best thing for Brian was to be rehomed. The pair had been the first beavers in the area for 400 years.

Beryl the Eurasian beaver was brought to Plymouth in January

In a statement the council said: "Clearly we need to do some work to redesign and reinforce the damaged areas of the enclosure to ensure this can't happen again.

"While it's sad for us and for all the people who have taken an interest in Brian, the best thing for him is to go to a new home."

The council said this was "not the end" of the project and they would be taking the time to "make things even better" for any future beaver pairs they introduce.

Mark Elliott, beaver project lead at Devon Wildlife Trust, added: "This lovely wooded stream valley has always been very suitable for beavers.

"By repairing and reinforcing the fencing, coppicing some of the alder, and slowing the flood flows we can make the site more resilient to high-rainfall events."

The male beaver had been released into the Forder Valley in November and the female Eurasian beaver was caught in the wild in the Tay Catchment in Scotland, and introduced in January.