The Great Escape ...

The beaver enclosure is, of course, designed to keep the beavers within it, as the Welsh government is not yet ready to see Steve and Doris roaming freely, as their distant ancestors would have done before we killed them off some 400 years ago. 

The wire fence will stop most things bigger than a water vole or mole coming in or out.  The grids on the water inlets (three of them) and outlet (one) will allow something a little bigger to pass through, as the bars are welded at 10cm intervals, centre to centre.  This means a gap of 9cm, as the rebar (reinforced bar) we used is 1cm in diameter.  The idea is that this is too small for a beaver but will allow otters who may frequent the waterway to continue to get though.

Towards the end of the construction of the enclosure we had cameras in place to see if anything large was using the area which would soon be fenced off.  We saw badgers trotting through, so made sure we (noisily) swept through the area before closing the gate, with the aim of flushing anything big out.  That seemed to work, as in the month after the beavers arrived the only largish (non-flying) things we spotted were otters and pole cats.  All good.

An otter checking out the quality of the beavers' handy work

Polecats are in and out all the time ...

On this occasion, the polecat pops in for lunch ... I think a newly hatched bird in the brambles

However, on 20^th of July footage was recorded which just caught what appeared to be a badger’s bum.  This caused a fair bit of alarm.  It had been very dry, so digging around for dinner would have been harder than usual for the badgers.  As a result, the damp land in the enclosure would have been attractive.  But if badgers had dug their way into the enclosure, it was very likely that the beavers would at some stage discover the tunnel and make the most of it.  Jess and I inspected the fence line more attentively but just could not see anything. 

Exit stage right ... this badger's bum caused a lot of grief

We then moved all the cameras to focus on the fence and grills, excepting one overlooking the platform which we leave apples or carrots on for Steve and Doris … the best place to catch them both together.  Fortunately, they were still regularly appearing as a double act.

Jess reviewed hours of footage … a camera can provide hundreds of 20 second clips a day, most of which capture nothing of interest, but have to be watched to be sure (presumably we should be harnessing AI).  The motion sensor may be tripped by the vegetation moving in the wind, a small bird or a mouse running by.  But, at last we got a breakthrough, and with it made a major scientific discovery.  Against all the odds, it turns out that big things can get through small gaps.

Surely too big to get out ...

The grills, with their 9cm gaps, were allowing not only polecats and otters to get in an out, but also the badgers.  As I learnt, if a mustelid (a family which includes polecats, otters, badger, weasels and others) can get its head through a gap, the rest of its body can follow.  My shoulders just won’t do that.

Not too difficult after all ...

Although trickier after a large dinner ... guess who ate all the pies

It turns out that some foxes manage it too. 

A sleek fox can get through with little difficulty

Any why are they all queuing to get in?  Well, as it turns out the polecats put on a pretty good show

Pole dancing ... turns out that Polecats love nothing more than a camera and a stage ...

Steve and Doris are the exception that fortunately proves the rule ... they are big but can't fit through a 9cm gap.

Thankfully, no so easy for Steve (or Doris)

Relief.  Although, a nagging concern.  Doris was named by me, but Steve came named.  Neither Derek Gow, who had quarantined the beavers before we got them, or Roisin, at the Beaver Trust, had provided an explanation.  However, I did find this article on the BBC website … a male beaver was named Steve after Steve McQueen, star of The Great Escape, after getting beyond the enclosure fence on three occasions.  Apparently in search of a mate.  Let’s hope he is satisfied with Doris.

Of course, some things just don't need to worry about borders, passport control or pesky grills ...

Heron checks out the stage ...