KNOWLEDGE BASE

A survey of beaver activity on approximately 280km of waterway in the River Avon catchment, conducted in early 2022, identified 13 established beaver territories. Researchers estimated that around 50 beavers were occupying the area, but that they had so far created few management issues. The document contains a number of pictures of beaver activity, including dams and felled trees. Figure 4, for example, shows an impressive 20m-long dam in the Frome sub-catchment.

Beavers' diets change with the seasons - in winter, they typically eat more woody plants. Here, scientists in Poland analysed the cellular structure of the Eurasian beaver oesophagus to understand whether this organ changed in parallel or not. The study showed that one layer of the oesophagus became 2-3 times thicker in winter but that most other components of the oesophagus stayed the same.

Twenty years after beavers' return to the area, researchers surveyed 400 residents of Kent, UK, to understand their attitudes towards the local beavers. This population had been relatively unstudied in comparison to the River Otter population in the southwest of England. The results showed that people perceived beavers' impact on nature and biodiversity positively, but held concerns about the beavers' impact agriculture and fisheries. The authors emphasised the importance of public engagement in managing successful reintroduction programmes, and that such engagement required understanding public attitudes and emotions.

Over the preceding few decades, beavers in the Czech Republic had been expanding from their typical habitat - lowland floodplain forests - into other environments. This article examined beaver population density, range size, and food preferences in four different types of environment. The results showed that beavers are most densely populated in forested areas with small streams, whilst small streams in agricultural landscapes supported 3 times fewer beavers. Beaver population density in large rivers was comparable whether those rivers were in the forest or in agricultural landscapes. Please note, this resource is not open-access.

In this book chapter, the challenges and opportunities presented by the Eurasian beaver's return to Britain are discussed. Topics covered included health risks, genetics, and potential conflicts with communities. The authors promoted a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach to manage the beaver's return. Please note, this resource is not open-access.