Wildlife: Largest release of beavers in England

A family of beavers has been released in Nottinghamshire, the first time the water-loving mammals have returned to the county in 400 years.

The seven beavers, including four babies, called kits, will make their home at Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust's Idle Valley Nature Reserve.

The Wildlife Trust hopes the beavers will help improve the habitat for a range of wetland birds and create new pools to benefit everything from fish to dragonflies and otters.

Beavers are native to the UK, but in previous centuries they had been hunted to near extinction for their fur and meat.

They have been released into the UK in record numbers in the last few years because the mammal's activities, such as the building of dams, can increase biodiversity, clean water and even prevent flooding.

These beavers came from Scotland, where they have been breeding since 2006.

Sir David Attenborough, who is President Emeritus of the Wildlife Trust called beavers "our natural water engineers", he said:

"We must bring wildlife and wild places back on an ambitious scale, in turn creating new livelihoods and protecting the planet for future generations."