A new male beaver named Christian was released successfully into a Knapdale loch by the Scottish Beaver Trial on September 21. The hope is that he and a female beaver, Trude, already living on the loch will form a breeding pair, increasing the breeding population in the area.

The main indicator that they have formed a pair is if they build a lodge together, and once it’s established they can set about starting a family.

By assessing the success of breeding pairs of beavers, the Scottish Beaver Trial can determine their impact on the environment as well as how well they adapt to living in Scotland.

The introduction of beavers to Knapdale Forest has attracted a lot of attention from the public with beaver watching trips proving very popular. For Trial updates and details of visitor facilities, visit the website of the Scottish Beaver Trial.

The beavers that were introduced to Knapdale Forest in May have built their first lodge. This exciting development shows that the beavers are settling in well to their new Scottish home.

The lodge is essentially a shelter for the beavers when they are not in the water and is made from branches and earth which has compacted together to form a very tough structure. The beavers enter it from beneath the water and inside are two chambers where the family can stay warm and dry.

The knapdale beavers have obviously been busy. As well as the lodge other evidence that beavers are in the area are severed branches and cut down trees.  It’s not known at this point whether the other two families that were introduced to Argyll have built lodges yet. They may not have been discovered yet or may be using burrows at their lochs’ edges.

Scottish Beaver Trial staff have asked the public not to go hunting for the lodge. It is situated away from any lochside paths in a secluded area and attempting to locate it may disturb the beavers, their habitat and other wildlife in the area.