Out of sight, but not out of mind ... those pesky beavers

Well, it’s exactly 3 months since Steve and Doris first arrived at Cefn Garthenor at the end of April.  They were released separately as they had not actually met, and it was felt best that they should deal with a new home slightly ahead of meeting the new housemate.  That was on Saturday 26 April.

And that was the last time I actually, physically, saw either Steve or Doris with my own eyes.  Separate and heading in their own, different, directions.  The next day, Sunday, Rob Parry from INCC saw one of them.  Who knows which, as despite some great photos and a long lens, it really is very difficult to tell them apart.  I can’t.

Fortunately, they have not escaped.  Either Jess (mainly) or I (much less often) walk the perimeter fence most days.  We check for signs of activity near the fence, especially in wetter areas and ditches, just to make sure that they are not digging in a direction that might result in them popping up beyond the perimeter fence.  Jess discovered one area, which we filled in and meshed over and that seems to have put the digger(s) off.

And of course, we also regularly walk into the areas of the enclosure where someone or something has clearly been very active.  We have 5 or 6 camera traps set up and regularly leave a couple of apples or carrots on the platform where we released them, directly in front of one of those cameras.

This dam was an early creation, but has been breached on occasion. However, the beavers have acted quickly to repair any damage overnight, as in this case. In the top picture, you can see the platform in the background

Literally from day one, we could see that dams were being build, paths trod, banks dug, branches cut, stripped and moved, and new canals created.  And we have footage of some of this happening, as well as of the apples and carrots being munched.  Trouble was, as Roisin from the Beaver Trust was only too willing to point out, we could not actually tell if everything was the result of one very busy beaver or two.  What she wanted was both beavers in shot at the same time as we simply could not tell whether we had images of just one beaver or an alternating couple.

This totally new waterway leads into the birch woodland and lots of tasty food supplies ... beavers prefer to stay close to water, so makes sense for them to build the infrastructure

Of course, they may have met up but decided there was no spark or even friendship and may never have been spotted together.  But, as it turned out, on 19 May we caught them both at the same time, grooming each other in the entrance of what might be a lodge.  Phew.

Steve and Doris seen together for the first time on 19 May 2025, just over three weeks after release ...

We now regularly see them together, especially on the release platform which they visit to see if any apples or carrots have been left.  My guess is that initially they were living separate lives but eventually decided, possibly as a result of one having created a more desirable abode than the other, that there were advantages of co-habiting.  Was that Steve or Doris?  I’m not even going there.  It is amazing how many friends are very clear about which is which.  Trust me, this says more about their prejudice than any knowledge of these critters.  But they are my friends … mmm

Steve or Doris?

Now, I may not have seen Steve and Doris with my own eyes, but I’ve heard them both together, and they scared the hell out of me.  I was checking the enclosure one Sunday afternoon when I saw what looked like a possible entrance to a what I thought might be a lodge in the bank.  I was inspecting from the opposite bank when suddenly there were two loud sploshes from within the entrance followed by two lines of bubbles marking their exit from it.  The water was muddy and they swam around 10 metres under the surface before disappearing under overhanging vegetation.  I hung around, but nothing.  Hey ho.

Shifting mud around, building up a dam wall ... impressive earth works!

Anyway, check out the photos and video footage.  You’ll notice that most is at night or at least dusk or dawn.  They don’t like to be seen at work.  But work they do.  They are amazing and are seriously changing the habitat in a truly remarkable way.  And never assume that beavering away means slow, steady progress.  Steve and Doris are ninja engineers and construction workers.

Munching apples on the platform ... this is where we get the clearest sightings, important so we can see if there are any injuries or other health issues

Couple of obvious lessons if you happen to be creating a beaver enclosure.  First, make sure that all the really interesting bits (from a beaver’s perspective) are well away from the fence line.  Second, the platform was a really good idea as you get the best view of the beavers to check their health and condition, which is trickier if the footage has them in the water or amongst undergrowth.  I didn’t get the first one totally right, but for now they are focussing on the centre on the enclosure, which is obviously a good thing.  Derek Gow, thanks for the tip on the second.

Lots of branches cut, on the diagonal with tell tale tooth gouges