TWO baby beavers - known as kits - have been born at The Lowther Estate near Penrith.

It's four years since a pair of Eurasian beavers, Glen and Dragonfly, were introduced in a licensed, enclosed, scientific release.

This appears to be the first time the beavers have successfully bred, much to the delight of conservationists around the county.

It’s thought that the kits were born in May or June this year, but Cumbria Beaver Group (CBG) has waited for the young family to establish itself and to ensure the kits were thriving, before they released footage of them, taken on camera traps.

Elizabeth Ogilvie, ecologist at The Lowther Estate said: “It has been a joy to watch the beaver kits through the trail cameras this summer.

"This winter the beaver adults developed their 'lodge' and expanded their ponds, thus creating some wetland in the grassland part of the enclosure.

"Careful grazing with water buffalo, keeping the grass short, maintaining damp flushes and muddy edges, has also helped to foster a perfect habitat for lapwing who have bred in the area for the first time, alongside families of mallards, moorhens and greylags.

"In addition, we have spotted a number of bats on the trail cameras feeding on insects above the pools.

"None of this would have taken place if the beavers had not created the wetland habitat.”

Above video shows the beaver kits exploring their new home. Credit: Lowther Estate

David Harpley, chair of Cumbria Beaver Group said: “We’re delighted that the Lowther beavers have bred successfully this year and are rearing two kits, who seem to be doing very well.

"Since arriving at Lowther in 2020, beavers have been bringing a whole host of benefits to the wetland landscape. As well as helping biodiversity, people benefit from these ecosystem engineers too: by holding water back in the landscape, they reduce the risk of flooding downstream.

“Back in 2022 we welcomed the news that beavers in England will be given the protection they need and deserve through legislation.

"However, we’re still waiting for the Government to put in place the steps needed for their return, such as licences for beavers to be returned to the wild in England and the publishing of strategic plans to enable beavers to be reintroduced.”

The beavers at Lowther are in a fenced-in enclosure on The Lowther Estate and cannot be visited by members of the public. However, you can watch video clips of the beaver family taken on the camera trap on the Lowther Castle YouTube channel.

In the long term, the group would like to see beavers return to Cumbria. However, it’s vital that any reintroduction is well planned, well managed and has the support of the local community.

Cumbria Beaver Group is made up of Cumbria Wildlife Trust, The RSPB, The Lowther Estates and Eden Rivers Trust and is working in consultation with Natural England, the Environment Agency, United Utilities, Forestry England, the University of Cumbria and others.