Two baby beavers born as part of wildlife project

Two baby beavers have been born in Cornwall as part of a wildlife reintroduction project.

The parent beavers, Twiggy and Byrti, were introduced to a purpose-built enclosure on the Lost Gardens of Heligan estate in 2023 and 2024 respectively.

It was part of a national programme of reintroducing the species more than 400 years after their extinction in Britain, said The Lost Gardens of Heligan.

Toby Davies, wildlife coordinator at the gardens, said: "They looked to be a couple months old, but that's quite common for them to hide them away for a couple of months, and then all of a sudden, they kind of spring up."

He added: "It's just such amazing news, I keep saying to everyone, I'm like a proud dad."

Mr Davies said in the wild baby beavers, or kits as they are called, would usually stay with the parents for a couple years before on.

The Lost Gardens of Heligan said beavers were an important keystone species and their reintroduction was being monitored to gauge their impact on local biodiversity, flood mitigation and grazing livestock.

It worked with The Welsh Beaver Project, Beaver Trust and Natural England on their reintroduction programme.

As well as beavers, the gardens have reintroduced water voles and glow worms to the estate and bosses said they were working on reintroducing red squirrels in future.

Mr Davies said the beavers kits were yet to be named but would be named soon.

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