Beavers reintroduced to waters around Loch Ness for the first time in 500 years

Beavers reintroduced to waters around Loch Ness for the first time in 500 years Bosses at charity Dundreggan Rewilding Centre have expressed their joy at reintroduction of beavers - a family of six to be precise - to the waters around Loch Ness Beavers have been reintroduced to waters around Loch Ness for the first time since they were last recorded there 500 years ago. The family of six were released on Trees for Life’s 10,000-acre Dundreggan rewilding estate in Glenmoriston in the Highlands. Steve Micklewright, the charity’s chief executive, said it was a “beautiful thing to see” the animals back in their natural habitat. He said: “I can see them swimming and very calm, which is a really good sign.” The family consists of a mother beaver, a couple of juveniles that are around two years old, and three young beavers who were born earlier this year. They were caught on Tayside, where Steve said they were causing problems for farmers, transported to a zoo for a health check, then re-released to the wild around Loch Ness. Steve added: “Now they’re out in the wild, and to see them just being really relaxed is amazing. The little ones have been swimming around, and those are the ones I’ve been watching on the side of the loch grooming each other, which is a real sign that they are settling in.” The release is the first for the Ness Beaver Project, in which at least 15 beaver family groups will be reintroduced around Loch Ness over the next three years. Guided tours to spot the animals will be offered eventually. Alan McDonnell, Trees for Life’s head of nature restoration, said: “Hunted to extinction centuries ago, beavers are reclaiming their place in our rivers and wetlands.