Delight as first beaver kits are born in the wild in trust's nature reserve

CONSERVATIONISTS at Cornwall Wildlife Trust are celebrating a major milestone at its flagship rewilding site near Bodmin, with the arrival of the first wild beaver kits.

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The kits are the offspring of beavers that appeared at Helman Tor Nature Reserve in what was dubbed a 'beaver bombing' - an illegal release which took place in early 2024.

It comes after recent announcements of kits being born within purpose-built enclosures at the Lost Gardens of Heligan, part of a national programme of reintroductions which aim to reverse more than 400 years of beavers being extinct in the UK.

Laura Snell, conservation officer at Cornwall Wildlife Trust, first suspected the presence of kits after picking up noises on camera trap footage.