Plymouth beaver back home after escape bid
Plymouth's new resident beaver is back home after making an escape bid.
The animal, which was released into the Forder Valley in November as part of a rewilding project, was spotted in the city by police officers who managed to get a photo.
Officers based at Charles Cross say they were confronted with the “unusual sight” of the beaver at large on Monday 21 December.
They tweeted: “An unusual sight for one of our crews on Monday night shift: Plymouth's resident beaver spotted out and about.
“He has apparently been caught since and is back home for Christmas.”
The 20kg male Eurasian beaver was caught in late September in the wild from the Tay Catchment in Scotland.
Beavers have been living in the wild there for some time and as a result, where there are conflicts with farmers, a licence can be obtained to cull them.
The beaver was saved from almost certain death and has been given a capacious new home in the Forder Valley. The specially designed re-wilding enclosure, covers 3.5 hectares and includes 600m of river in the wooded valley.
Watch the moment the beaver was released into its new Plymouth home
It was the first urban release of the beaver in the UK. It is all part of the Green Minds project, a Plymouth City Council scheme which will re-wild urban parks, gardens and verges.
The beaver’s behaviour and actions will now be monitored in the hope its actions will reduce flooding further downstream and create habitats for wildlife.
The council is hoping to bring a female in within the next few months so that the pair can start a family.
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