Nature’s engineers build for the future in Scotland

Now, however, following their reintroduction and protection their numbers have more than doubled in the last three years.

According to a recent NatureScot survey, there are now around 1000 resident in Scotland – the largest population in Tayside has expanded to Dundee, Stirling, Forfar and Crianlarich and is expected to soon take up residence on the shores of Loch Lomond.

As head of wildlife management at NatureScot, Donald Fraser’s focus is both the species conservation and management of beaver impact.

He explains: “My role is to make sure we have a healthy and expanding population – ensuring nature, people and beavers can all co-exist.”

Donald points out beavers are currently going through their rapidly expanding population phase not only because of a wealth of suitable habitats in Scotland but the fact strong protection has been in place since 2019. This is when beavers were granted European Protected Species (EPS) status by the Scottish Government.

Donald Fraser is head of wildlife management at NatureScot

“We’re also seeing expansion into brand new areas that are suitable for them and the great news is they’re responding positively to that,” he adds.

Beavers play a vital role in creating and restoring wetlands where many other species can thrive. Their work also helps to reduce the threat of downstream flooding and improves water quality. Whether or not it’s down to an admiration for this engineering prowess in eco-enhancement, there seems to be a natural affinity for the creatures among most Scots.

Donald agrees, adding: “People in Scotland are well connected with nature and wildlife and are keen to see wildlife do well and thrive. Beavers are a relatively new part of this in recent years and there is an appetite to see them in their natural environment. 

“Obviously, those who suffer the impacts from beaver activity will have a slightly different view at times, but I think overall everyone’s keen to see this positive conservation story . . . with beavers viewed as being an integral part of Scotland’s biodiverse future.”

As Donald points out, not everyone is a fan, with some landowners voicing their concerns at the effect beavers’ landscaping actions can have on their properties and businesses.

“This is why we’ve worked closely with a whole range of stakeholders,” says Donald, “from those with an environmental conservation interest right through to land managers who can suffer some of the worst impacts. These impacts are largely around flooding of certain areas, particularly very productive agricultural land in Tayside where the biggest beaver population now exists.

“We’ve worked with all of them to look at a whole range of management measures that we can employ, especially in terms of monitoring and managing water levels, particularly in important areas for agricultural or transport infrastructure..

“We’re also addressing issues such as beavers damming rivers and tunneling into river banks in order to mitigate the detrimental effects this can sometimes have. This includes measures such as putting in pipes and other water flow infrastructure to manage the water levels.”

Translocation of beavers is another measure employed when beavers are causing problems for landowners, as well as licensed culling where the problem of behavioural impact needs to be addressed immediately.

The 2020 Beaver Management Report, also published this month, outlines the wide range of actions already undertaken by NatureScot and land managers to reduce the rare but very real issues beaver activities cause for some interests. 

Its findings highlight 68 active mitigation projects, including tree protection and the installation of flow devices in beaver dams.
To prevent serious damage to agricultural land, 31 beavers were trapped and moved to licensed, enclosed reintroduction projects in England, while 56 beaver dams were removed. 

Beavers were also killed under licence to prevent impacts – however, NatureScot is working to identify as many alternative opportunities to reduce the amount of lethal control. The translocation process can be complex, requiring sourcing a suitable environment into which the animals can be released and involving appropriately experienced personnel covered by a separate licence.

The translocation must also be carried out in a relatively small window outside the kit-dependency period and avoiding winter months when the weather is sure to be at its harshest, which translocated beavers must have time in their new environment to prepare for.

“My biggest takeway from the 2020 Beaver Management Report, in terms of the management issues and appropriate measures,” says Donald, “is the very welcome findings of a healthy and increasing population combined with the high level of engagement we’ve had with a wide range of interests and particularly land owners and farmers to make sure we’re successfully managing the impacts of the beaver activity. 

“We need to mitigate the issues that farmers face, particularly the potential flooding of areas of their land, while ensuring we also see thriving beaver populations. It’s by working closely with landowners experiencing the impacts and those seeking the wider environmental benefits that we’ll get the balance right.”

As part of its mission to inspire everyone to care more for the natural environment in Scotland, NatureScot also believes it’s vital to get the message out there about just how important the beavers’ success is to Scotland’s overall biodiversity.

Donald says: “Yes, that’s incredibly important. And as well as species biodiversity, which has benefits for climate and nature, the fact is people really do like to see beavers in the wild. They will play an increasingly important role in Scotland's environment, whilst also, attracting visitors and boosting tourism, which means they will have a very positive economic impact. 

“Of course, as their population expands people will have even more great opportunities to see wild beavers in the Scottish countryside.”
Donald is optimistic that not only are we currently witnessing a healthy and growing population of beavers but this phase of expansion will continue in the long term.

He says: “There are real benefits from beavers in Scotland and we must continue to work in partnership with landowners and land managers, especially as we see beavers expand their range further and move into new areas, away from the more productive agricultural land.

“We will increasingly see the benefits beavers can bring in terms of wetland creation and the species biodiversity this can support, while simultaneously removing the potential conflict issues of impacts upon agriculture.”
www.nature.scot

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Beavering away to create watery new habitats for the benefit of all

Scotland’s beavers live mainly in our freshwater lochs and rivers.

Perfectly equipped with webbed back feet and large, flat tails and cocooned in warm, waterproof coats, their bodies have evolved to allow them to spend most of their time swimming in the water.

Renowned as nature’s supreme engineers – with their work alleviating flooding and improving water quality – they benefit nature by creating new habitats such as ponds and wetlands that enable a wide range of other species to thrive. 

These species include amphibians, otters, voles, bats, waterfowl and other birds that use wetland and pond habitats, as well as many invertebrates, especially those living in dead wood, which is another important habitat. 

Some species, who may be at first disadvantaged on a local level, often move into brand new habitats created by beavers or ultimately enjoy improved habitats. This means the overall effects of beaver activity are neutral or indeed positive on a wider scale. 

Whilst impacts  can seem dramatic in the short term’ The beavers’ ability to fell trees using their teeth is also known to improve the structural diversity of riparian woodland.

Native deciduous trees of Scotland, in particular, have adapted to cope with beaver gnawing and can actually regrow entirely from the cut stump. Humans benefit from this this co-evolved trait, too, by using coppicing as a means of sustainably harvesting timber.

As herbivores, beavers eat more than 300 different plant species and more than 90 per cent of their foraging takes place no more than the first 10 metres of the waterside. 

Although adult beavers don’t have natural predators in Scotland, young beavers – known as kits – are vulnerable to predation by foxes, otters, pine marten, large raptors and even dogs. Beavers of all ages are also vulnerable to disease, adverse weather conditions, food shortages and road deaths.

There can also be conflict with rival beavers. Being monogamous, a mated pair of beavers will defend their territory from all others and this can cover a mile of river. 

They defend territories mostly be scent-marking, especially at the edges of the territory, but this can escalate to killing other beavers. 
Young beavers take two years to reach maturity when they will then move to new areas.

If there aren’t enough suitable new territories the young will stay at home, sometimes for several years. This means, over time, a breeding pair will develop into a family group that includes young from previous years.

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Survey points to healthy numbers

The Eurasian beaver, which was once native to the UK, was hunted to extinction in the sixteenth century. In May 2009 the Scottish Wildlife Trust, in association with Forestry and Land Scotland and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, reintroduced the first wild beavers into Scotland in Knapdale Forest in Argyll. 

An independent monitoring programme by NatureScot assessed the effect this trial repopulation had on the local environment and how well the animals were settling in Scotland. This evidence contributed to a comprehensive report, Beavers in Scotland, which was published and presented to the Scottish Government in 2015. 

The beavers in Tayside and surrounding areas are the result of unauthorised releases or escapes and have been present since at least 2006, with many animals settling on or in close proximity to areas of Prime Agricultural Land.

The latest NatureScot survey, which was carried out last winter, is acknowledged as the most comprehensive and authoritative survey of beaver numbers and their range ever conducted in the UK. It gathered detailed and up-to-date information on the locations of active beaver territories, as well as assessing the health and spread of the overall population, to help inform future beaver work. 

NatureScot worked with Scotland’s foremost beaver specialist, Roisin Campbell-Palmer, and experts at the University of Exeter to conduct the survey.

It mapped 251 active territories and the expansion in numbers represents a 120 per cent increase compared to the 114 territories estimated in 2017-2018.

However the true figure may be even larger due to the fact that, as territory density increases, it becomes more difficult to tell if the spread of beaver signs is from one territory or more. Moreover, in larger survey areas some territories on smaller watercourses can easily be missed. 

Given the close proximity and densities of some families in some areas, it’s possible more than one family is present in some identified territories, leading to an underestimation of the number of beaver territories in that section.

Up to a fifth of a breeding beaver population can be comprised of singletons, which act as potentially large-distance dispersers. 
Such “pioneer dispersers”, especially those living on minor watercourses on the fringes and outside of the main surveyed areas, may not be captured in survey results as they can live relatively unobtrusively.