Dorset's beavers get to work
At our enclosed Beaver Project site in West Dorset, we are studying the impacts that beavers have on their environment at a local level. They are famous for being industrious with the ability to change a landscape like no other living thing in nature, and I have been blown away by just how much our two adult Eurasian beavers Castor fiber have achieved since they were released onto the site back in February 2021. The pair took no time at all in getting to work, starting on their very first dam on the third night of being in their new Dorset home and have now constructed a total of four dams to date.
During my routine checks, I have discovered these dynamic 'leaky' structures at an early stage and watched them evolve using trail cameras (aka 'beavercams') to capture footage of the beavers in action. Watch our 'ecosystem engineers' adding freshly cut willow branches, a favourite material in the early stages, followed by vegetation and even large rocks! Sediment and mud are then added to help plug any gaps.
