At least two new wild beaver kits have been born just eight months after beaver family introduced to Paradise Fields in West London
Camera trap footage reveals at least two new babies have been born to a family of beavers living in urban London. The beaver kits, which were born in spring, emerged from their lodge in recent weeks. The births have been a welcome surprise for conservationists at the Ealing Beaver Project, who were responsible for the successful reintroduction of five Eurasian beavers last year at Paradise Fields, an urban wetland in Greenford in Ealing, West London. ‘I had every confidence our Beaver family would settle in at Paradise Fields, but to discover they’ve had new baby kits this spring is really the icing on the beaver cake!’ says Sean McCormack, Ealing Beaver Project licence holder and chair of Ealing Wildlife Group. Wildlife enthusiasts have called the news a huge advancement in urban rewilding.
Here are some highlights from their first couple of weeks venturing outside of the safety of the lodge:
The five adult beavers released at Paradise Fields had been moved to the urban setting from a rural location in Scotland in October 2023. Just eight months later, the family had already settled in, building lodges, new waterways and dams – and producing their first beaver kits. The success follows on from the birth of London’s first baby beaver, born last autumn, after beavers were reintroduced to the waterways around Enfield, North London
Beavers were once permanent residents in London, until hunting, habitat loss and persecution drove them from the capital (and the rest of the UK) 400 years ago. McCormack says that beavers are not a ‘wilderness’ species. ‘They are an important animal we once lived alongside up and down the country and welcoming them back, even to our towns and cities, is the right thing to do. We may need to learn to live alongside them again, and sometimes manage their behaviour, but the ecosystem services they provide have been clearly demonstrated here already at the Ealing Beaver Project.’ The arrival of the kits shows that humans and wildlife can thrive side by side in urban environments, even in sites that are fully accessible and open to the public such as Paradise Fields.
The environment modifications made by the beavers at Paradise Fields have already improved local water quality, reduced flooding, and attracted more insects and other wildlife on site. The team at Ealing Wildlife Group look forward to welcoming more visitors on their walking tours and beaver watching safaris, and welcome any donations to support the ongoing costs of the volunteer-led, community project.
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