Conservation - Castors du Devon (82) Images supplémentaires...
Once part of the native British fauna, beavers were hunted to extinction some centuries ago but are now once again living wild and breeding in the UK. The Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT) is involved in two separate beaver conservation projects. The first is on a securely-fenced enclosure where a pair of beavers were introduced in 2011, and have since successfully bred. Studies of this group of animals show that beavers are effective at reducing woodland encroachment and the numerous ponds they create slow the rate of water flow, helping to reduce flooding downstream.

In 2014, DWT got involved with the population of beavers living in the wild in the river Otter. There had been sightings of these animals for a few years but once it was confirmed that the beavers were breeding in the wild, Defra proposed that they should be removed from the river, citing the risk of non-native diseases. DWT opposed this plan and proposed a solution: testing the beavers to prove they were free of non-native infectious disease, then re-releasing them on the river Otter as part of a five-year monitoring study. The River Otter Beaver Trial is England’s first beaver re-introduction project in the wild. In January 2015, Natural England granted DWT a licence to release beavers into the wild as part of this project. After the beavers had been screened for disease, they had ear-tags fitted for monitoring purposes and were re-released on the river Otter in late March, where subsequently one of the female beavers gave birth to at least two young. In May 2016 two new beavers were introduced into the river in an effort to increase genetic diversity in the population. In June 2016 five kits were born to the newly released beaver pair, an unprecedented number of young for a single female.

The River Otter Beaver Trial is led by Devon Wildlife Trust, working in partnership with the University of Exeter, Clinton Devon Estates and the Derek Gow Consultancy. It aims to to monitor the impacts of these wild-living beavers on the River Otter, and investigate how they colonise the river and impact the ecology and existing users of the valley.

NPL photographer Nick Upton has had privileged access to shoot both stills and footage of the veterinary checks and release of these wild beavers. He has also taken images at different times of the captive beavers in their enclosure and their effects on the landscape, and of the beaver kits born in the wild after the release.
Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) father grooming on margins of the River Otter at night as his five kits feed on a willow sapling the mother has brought for the family to feed on, Devon, UK, July. Part...
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Nick Upton / Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) father grooming on margins of the River Otter at night as his five kits feed on a willow sapling the mother has brought for the family to feed on, Devon, UK, July. Part...
Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) mother suckling one of her five kits on the banks of the River Otter, Devon, UK, July. Part of Devon Wildlife Trust's Devon Beaver Trial.
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Nick Upton / Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) mother suckling one of her five kits on the banks of the River Otter, Devon, UK, July. Part of Devon Wildlife Trust's Devon Beaver Trial.
Release of Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) back to the River Otter.  Part of escaped population re-released to the wild following veterinary check ups. Taken on the second day of Beaver releases after...
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Nick Upton / Release of Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) back to the River Otter. Part of escaped population re-released to the wild following veterinary check ups. Taken on the second day of Beaver releases after...
Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) mother and three of her kits eating stems and leaves of Common hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) which she has cut. On the margins of the River Otter alongside the father,...
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Nick Upton / Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) mother and three of her kits eating stems and leaves of Common hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) which she has cut. On the margins of the River Otter alongside the father,...
Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) gnawing the trunk of a Willow tree (Salix sp.) in woodland enclosure at night. Devon Beaver Project, run by Devon Wildlife Trust, Devon, UK, April. Taken by a remote cam...
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Nick Upton / Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) gnawing the trunk of a Willow tree (Salix sp.) in woodland enclosure at night. Devon Beaver Project, run by Devon Wildlife Trust, Devon, UK, April. Taken by a remote cam...
Young Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) kit swimming , River Otter near its lodge, Devon, UK, July. Part of Devon Wildlife Trust's Devon Beaver Trial.
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Nick Upton / Young Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) kit swimming , River Otter near its lodge, Devon, UK, July. Part of Devon Wildlife Trust's Devon Beaver Trial.
Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) placing a branch stripped of bark on its dam in woodland enclosure at night, Devon Beaver Project, run by Devon Wildlife Trust, Devon, UK, April. Taken by a remote camer...
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Nick Upton / Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) placing a branch stripped of bark on its dam in woodland enclosure at night, Devon Beaver Project, run by Devon Wildlife Trust, Devon, UK, April. Taken by a remote camer...
Veterinarian from Royal Zoological Society of Scotland checking heart rate of Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) using handheld ECG. before being checked for Tapeworms (Echinococcus multilocularis). Beave...
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Nick Upton / Veterinarian from Royal Zoological Society of Scotland checking heart rate of Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) using handheld ECG. before being checked for Tapeworms (Echinococcus multilocularis). Beave...
Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) male nibbling a willow twig alongside one of his five kits at night , River Otter, Devon, UK, July. Part of Devon Wildlife Trust's Devon Beaver Trial.
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Nick Upton / Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) male nibbling a willow twig alongside one of his five kits at night , River Otter, Devon, UK, July. Part of Devon Wildlife Trust's Devon Beaver Trial.
Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) mother resting on the banks of the River Otter at night as one of her five kits climbs onto her back, Devon, UK, July. Part of Devon Wildlife Trust's Devon Beaver Trial.
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Nick Upton / Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) mother resting on the banks of the River Otter at night as one of her five kits climbs onto her back, Devon, UK, July. Part of Devon Wildlife Trust's Devon Beaver Trial.
Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) emerging from an artificial lodge after sunset, at a secret location during a beaver reintroduction by Devon Wildlife Trust, Devon, UK, May 2016.
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Nick Upton / Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) emerging from an artificial lodge after sunset, at a secret location during a beaver reintroduction by Devon Wildlife Trust, Devon, UK, May 2016.
Roisin Campbell-Palmer with an Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) in a transport crate about to be released to a secret location by Devon Wildlife Trust, Devon, UK, May 2016. Model released.
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Nick Upton / Roisin Campbell-Palmer with an Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) in a transport crate about to be released to a secret location by Devon Wildlife Trust, Devon, UK, May 2016. Model released.