The Cornish Seal Sanctuary is delighted to welcome a new female beaver named Parsnip, who is ready to establish her own territory and begin an exciting new chapter alongside Turnip, a male beaver who has been eagerly awaiting her arrival.
Parsnip, who is around two years old, comes to the Sanctuary from Forestry England’s Cropton Forest enclosure. She also spent a short period at Flamingo Land before joining the Sanctuary, and her move has been carefully planned with the guidance of the Beaver Trust studbook to ensure a responsible and compatible pairing.
Parsnip will be joining Turnip, a male beaver who has been at the Sanctuary since last year. Turnip himself was a hand-reared orphan rescued by the Scottish SPCA and has been thriving under the Sanctuary’s care ever since. Together, Turnip and Parsnip will have the opportunity to establish their own territories and continue the Sanctuary’s important work in caring for orphaned beaver kits.
“Hand-rearing a kit is a rare and delicate responsibility, and our priority for any beaver is always their long-term wellbeing,” said Dr Roisin Campbell-Palmer, Head of Restoration at Beaver Trust. “Seeing these young beavers pair up and display all the natural behaviours we hope for is a huge success, and one made possible through positive collaboration across multiple organisations, and we’re very pleased to have been part of it.”
The gorgeous new kit has spent a short period in the sanctuary’s ‘Beaver Nursery’ acclimatising to her new surroundings and getting used to the sights, sounds, and smells of her new Cornish home. Now she’s settled, she’ll move to the sanctuary’s four-acre beaver enclosure, where she and Turnip can explore, build, and bond.
“This is an exciting moment for our Sanctuary,” said Grace Jones, Conservation Coordinator at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary “Thanks to the support of our partners, Parsnip can now start her life with a compatible companion, and we look forward to watching these two beavers settle into their new home.”
The Sanctuary would like to extend thanks to all organisations involved in Parsnip’s journey, including the SSPCA, Forestry England, Flamingo Land and Beaver Trust, whose collaboration has made this move possible.
They would also like to send a heartfelt thank you to a good Samaritan in a passing recovery vehicle, who assisted the sanctuary team when their van experienced mechanical issues whilst transporting their very precious cargo into Cornwall. The hero carefully towed the van for the last leg of the journey to the Sanctuary, ensuring the safe arrival of Parsnip and the Sanctuary’s team members.
Conservation collaboration
This exciting addition is part of a wider conservation project in collaboration with the Beaver Trust, a leading organisation dedicated to the protection and reintroduction of beavers to their natural habitats. The project aims to provide a safe and stimulating environment for the sanctuary’s beavers while supporting conservation education and research on this keystone species.
You can follow Parsnip and Turnip’s journey at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary as they begin their life together on the Sanctuary’s social media pages.