New mate for bereaved beaver in Forest of Dean

The two beavers have shown signs they are forming a pair

A new mate has been found for a bereaved beaver after his first partner disappeared.

The original animals were imported from Germany and released into an enclosure in the Forest of Dean in 2018.

But tragedy struck last summer when the female went missing, and after extensive searches ecologists concluded she was probably dead.

Forestry England said the new beaver from Scotland seemed to be settling well into her new Gloucestershire home.

A spokesperson said conservationists and volunteers had been initially unconcerned by the first female's disappearance at the Greathough Brook enclosure.

They believed she could have retreated into a lodge or burrow to give birth, but when she was not picked up on their trail cameras they began to fear the worst.

"We increased our monitoring on the site and the local team used beaver traps baited with apples to try and capture both animals to carry out a welfare check, weigh them and replace any ear tags that may have fallen off," the Forestry England spokesperson said.

But while the male was captured, there was no sign of the female.

Working with the Beaver Trust, Forestry England relocated a new female from Scotland to the Gloucestershire enclosure in October.

'Forming a pair'

The two beavers found one another quickly, and seem to be very happy in one another's company.

"Since their first meeting they have been busy working together, making another new dam, maintaining the existing ones, felling trees and grooming each other - all good signs that they are forming a pair," the spokesperson said.

Beavers used to be commonplace in the Forest of Dean until about 400 years ago when they were hunted to extinction for their meat, fur and scent glands.

The decision to re-introduce them in 2019 was in the hope that their dam-building would reduce flood problems in the Lydbrook area and create an environment that would attract other wildlife.

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