Beavers reintroduced to South Downs in Sussex after 400 years

The animals, which were re-located from wild populations in Scotland, were released by the National Trust into a sheltered valley at the edge of the South Downs.

The beavers have been released under licence into a 15 hectare fenced area and the Trust has not disclosed the exact location, to give them the best possible chance of establishing themselves.

People are asked not to go to the site while they settle in.

Lead Ranger David Elliott and Area Ranger Sarah Fisk release the first beaver. Photos: Nick Upton

It is hoped the male and female pair will breed and their reintroduction will help to create a wildlife-rich wetland landscape.

Having once been an important part of the ecosystem, beavers became extinct in Britain in the 16th century because of hunting for their fur, meat and scent glands.

David Elliott, National Trust lead ranger for the South Downs West, said: “Today we are reintroducing a species which has been absent from this landscape for the last 400 years.

"Beavers are nature’s water engineers, they can help bring back the natural processes that have been missing from our environment.

“By creating their dams, the beavers will create new and wildlife-rich wetlands; ponds, rivulets and boggy areas that will, over the next few years, benefit a range of wildlife including amphibians such as frogs and toads, many dragonflies and damselflies and wildflowers such as Devil’s-bit scabious that love damp meadows.

“They’ll help us create a pyramid of life based on wetlands – including bird and bat species as their prey increases in abundance.”

The beavers' release is the first in south east England, following a successful pilot at Holnicote in Exmoor early last year, where the beavers have thrived.

The National Trust aims to create priority habitats for nature and to increase the diversity of species and wildlife on land in its care, with plans to improve 25,000 hectares - an area the size of 47,000 football pitches - of land for wildlife by 2025.

Beaver camouflaged in the pond against a lodge built for its arrival. Photo: Nick Upton

Jeremy Burgess, biodiversity lead for water habitats in the South Downs National Park, said: “I’m delighted to see this keystone species back in the South Downs and look forward to seeing the changes over the next few years as they restore natural river systems, benefit wider ecology and help to reduce flood risk.

“Hopefully these will be the first of many to return to our countryside.”

The beavers will continue the work started by the Trust's countryside team in July 2018 in helping to turn the valley into a haven for wildlife.

So far, interventions include changing the pattern of grazing to a lower intensity over a wider area with a small herd of Long Horn cattle.

Mr Elliot said the results are already starting to show, with a complex mosaic of habitats developing in the grasslands.

He said: “The landscape has already become absolutely alive with butterflies – marbled whites, common blues and meadow browns – in numbers you rarely see.

"Scrub is starting to appear on the margins of the fields, with oaks growing amongst them, often from acorns which have been planted by the jays as food stores for the winter.”