Underwater camera captures beaver ‘selfie’

By Lauren Beavis

New underwater cameras at the UK's largest national park have captured a beaver taking a 'selfie'.

Staff at Cairngorms National Park have set up an underwater camera to capture the elusive animals in their new habitat following the recent release of a beaver family.

The camera shows beavers passing by - with one swimming directly towards it and then knocking it over into the waterbed.

The team have reported there are now a total of 57 beavers in the upper Spey catchment area and one at Garmouth - with 18 kits in the national park.

The arrival of the kits marked the first birth of wild beavers in Scotland in 400 years.

Cathleen, from Cairngorms National Park, said: "Beavers can be elusive.

"Often only their heads and backs can be seen skimming along the surface of a loch, so our team set up an underwater camera in the hope of catching a glimpse of our most recently released family.

"They were not disappointed!"

In 2023 the Cairngorms National Park Authority led on the first licensed wild release of beavers in the upper River Spey catchment.

More from this section

Cops rescue boy who fell through frozen pond

Equities extend record run, oil eases

Syria, Israel to set up joint cell under US on de-escalation

It was described as "a landmark moment in conservation" and a "positive step forward for ecological restoration" in the national park.

Jonathan Willet, beaver project manager for the Cairngorms National Park Authority who was tasked with reintroducing beavers to the National Park, said it’s very handy to have the right technology so the team can keep an eye on things even when they are not physically around.

He added: "Beaver kits usually take a few months to emerge from the lodge and they don’t always come out at the same time.

"We now have a total of 57 beavers in the upper Spey catchment and one down at Garmouth.

"In line with our original license from NatureScot the latest release took place at a location where beavers were already present, but where there was space for an additional family to make their home.

"Over the next few months, we’ll be reviewing all our webcam and camera trap footage and reporting on our monitoring work. We’ll also be watching the new arrivals to ensure they have enough food to get them established and keeping a weekly check on the other sites.

"A key task for early next year will be exploring release sites for the final four pairs or families we are permitted to release."

Beavers are widely known as 'nature’s engineers' because of their remarkable ability to change the environment around them - offering benefits for nature and people alike.

Jonathan added: "Another thing beavers are very good at is tree felling, which is something they do as they start to fatten up for the winter.

"Beavers eat the bark of the trees they fell and much of this nutrition is stored as fat in their tails. You can recognise a healthy beaver by the rounded cross-section to its tail: by the end of a hard winter, the bones start to form a visible central ridge as all the fat stores are used up."