Beaver is born at Wallington, Northumberland

Once an everyday sight on rivers around Britain, beavers were hunted to extinction at Wallington during the sixteenth century.

The National Trust has announced the birth of the first beaver, known as a kit, to be born on the Wallington Estate in Northumberland in over 400 years.

This follows the release of a family of Eurasian beavers last year. The kit is estimated to have been born in late May, less than twelve months after the conservation charity released four beavers into an enclosure on July 12, 2023.

The Wallington team had been eagerly waiting for confirmation of a successful birth after spotting a heavily pregnant female back in May. Recent footage from static cameras placed within the 24-hectare enclosure shows the kit with its mother, heading back into the family lodge and taking a swim in the water.

The team is excited and will continue to monitor the family's health and the progress of the new kit.

Over 25 National Trust volunteers assist in caring for the Wallington beavers, dedicating 208 volunteer hours over the past year.

The beavers at Wallington are one of the few populations in Northern England and the third release by the charity.

Since their reintroduction, the beavers have been creating dams, canals, and burrows, which have led to the formation of wetlands that are boosting biodiversity along the river corridor.

The changing water levels are attracting various wildlife species, including bats, trout, kingfishers, and grey herons.
The beavers are also helping to build an environment more resilient to climate change effects like flooding and drought.

The beaver reintroduction project is part of the Wilder Wallington nature recovery project, which aims to restore species and contribute to climate resilience across the estate.

The estate's large size allows for significant contributions to nature recovery and climate resilience efforts.

Wallington is three years into a major nature recovery project called Wilder Wallington, where species recovery forms a key part of the work underway across the 5,431-hectare (13,420 acre) estate. The largest intact estate cared for by the National Trust.