BEAVERS have built their first dam on Exmoor in more than 400 years, following pioneering river restoration work, the National Trust announced this week.

The semi-aquatic rodents, which constructed their dam at the Holnicote Estate near Minehead, are the first to be released into the wild by the trust in its 125-year history.

Footage captured on wildlife cameras shows the animals gnawing nearby trees and collecting vegetation to create a dam across small channels that run through the Somerset estate.

Rangers described the beavers as ‘ecosystem engineers’, as nine months after they were introduced to slow the flow of water through the landscape and improve river quality, they have created an ‘instant wetland”.

Their construction allows for deep pools of water which offer animals shelter from predators and a place to store food, and turns the surrounding land into a mosaic of nature-rich habitats. Beaver dams, ponds and channels help human communities too – by preventing flooding through slowing, storing and filtering water as it flows downstream.

For the full story, see this week’s West Somerset Free Press.