Baby beavers born in west London for first time in 400 years

At least two baby beavers - known as kits - have been born at a nature reserve in west London.

It's the first time in more than 400 years that babies have been born there, according to the conservation experts.

The family of Eurasian beavers were introduced to the site in Ealing last year as part of a project to help nature diversity.

Experts say that it shows that the beavers were "happy" with their new habitat.

What's happened?

Beavers became near-extinct in Britain in the 16th century because people used to hunt them for their fur and meat.

Reintroduction programmes are underway across the country, and this one started last year in west London.

The family of Eurasian beavers were introduced to Paradise Fields in Greenford in October as part of a project that aims to get the public to interested in local nature as well as to study the effects of the beaver on the local environment.

Conservation experts say they're delighted with the birth of the two baby beavers - which are known as kits.

Dr Sean McCormack, one of the volunteers behind the project, said he had "a suspicion" that there could be babies at the reserve.

When he looked back at recordings of the site where beavers had been introduced he spotted the kits.

He said: "It was a real thrill to look at the camera footage and suddenly see this tiny miniature beaver, very very cute, playing with mum.

"We believe there's two, there could be more but we have seen two together," he added.

How do beavers help the environment?

Some beaver dams can be huge - like this one in America

Beavers are known for their engineering skills which they use to help protect their homes - called lodges.

They're able to do this as they have strong teeth and jaws which are very useful tools when it comes to building dams.

The rodents build dams to create deeper pools of water attached to rivers or streams to help them get around.

The dams also help other wildlife like frogs, insects and otters and can be very useful for humans too.

Beavers became extinct in the UK in the 1500s because of hunting but scientists have been reintroducing them to parts of the UK over the last decade.