Beaver kits born in Cairngorms National Park for second year running

Five beaver kits have been born in Cairngorms National Park for the second year in a row – after a 400-year hiatus.

The kits have been captured on camera at two separate sites in the park, in the Scottish Highlands, and hopes are high more may be born on other sites.

Beavers were first released into the park less than two years ago in a bid to establish a “healthy, sustainable” population.

The Upper Spey river catchment provides an ideal habitat of wetland and lochs, and it is hoped the beavers will restore the landscape, helping combat climate change and boosting biodiversity.

In the autumn, a third round of beavers will be released, amid hopes other land managers may offer to have them on their land.

The Cairngorms National Park is said to be an ideal habitat for beavers (Alamy/PA)

Jonathan Willet, beaver project manager at the Cairngorms National Park Authority, said: “It’s so exciting to see the new kits emerging from the burrow, exploring the habitat around them with their parents and splashing in the water.

“We’re hopeful that there may be even more kits at other sites, which we are monitoring closely over the next few weeks.

“Kits usually stay with their family for two years before leaving the family unit to find a mate.

“Those born last year – the first beaver kits in the Cairngorms National Park for 400 years – are now healthy juveniles who will be ready to start exploring and finding mates of their own over the next year.

“It’s heartening to see that this year’s breeding season has also been a success.”

The Cairngorms National Park Authority has a five-year licence with NatureScot, granted in December 2023, for 15 beaver pairs to be released over half a decade.

The first pair of beavers were released into Lochan Mor on Rothiemurchus in December 2023, with subsequent releases at sites owned by partners and private landowners.