Beavers return to Cheshire after 400 years

It follows trials elsewhere in the UK. Credit: Michael Symes/Devon Wildlife Trust/PA

Beavers are returning to Cheshire for the first time in 400 years.

A pair are set to be released into an enclosed site near Hatchmere in Delamere, as part of a five year nature project.

The animals are native to the county - but they became extinct in the 16th century due to being hunted for their fur and meat.  

It's hoped the beavers will build dams to create a natural flood defence. Credit: PA

"A new landscape"

The beavers are being released as part of a five-year land management project which it's hoped will create natural flood defences and improve biodiversity at the site.

The Cheshire Wildlife Trust say that, as the beavers adapt to their surroundings, they will create a new and improved landscape by:

  • removing some trees - allowing sunlight to reinvigorate the woodland floor

  • building dams to hold back water on the site and filter polluted sediments from flowing into a nearby lake

  • making new space for insects, invertebrates and fish

This will be the tenth site for beaver reintroduction. Credit: PA

Beavers have been released at a number of other sites in the UK as part of experiments in land management.

Last month, the government ruled that a populated of wild beavers living along the river Otter in East Devon should be allowed to stay. Kevin Feeney, Reserves Manager for Hatchmere says: "We're really excited to be bringing beavers back to Cheshire after being absent from our waterways for so long. Beavers are a natural and sustainable solution to managing habitats. We spend a lot of time and managing sites for nature, which beavers do better and cheaper. The beavers will be a huge benefit to Delamere."