Beaver Captured Twice During Health Monitoring
A beaver's fondness for sweet treats resulted in it being caught twice by National Trust rangers who were monitoring the health of the animals.
Rangers spent two months attempting to capture a family of beavers at Wallington, Northumberland, using fruit and vegetables as bait to lure them into humane traps.
After the father beaver was initially caught and found to be in good health, he was captured again when he returned for more food.
"He seems to like going into the trap and getting all the parsnips," said lead ranger Helen McDonald.
The beavers were caught using four large traps that close behind the animals when they step on a treadle inside.
McDonald explained that the traps were baited with carrots and apples, but the beavers showed a particular preference for parsnips due to their sweetness.
There are nine beavers in the enclosure, many of which were born at Wallington. The team was especially keen to check the health of the kits and fit them with microchips.
Three kits were caught and all were found to be healthy.
The family of five beavers was originally brought to the Wallington enclosure from Tayside, Scotland, in 2023.
One male, nicknamed Steve McQueen, was later rehomed after repeatedly escaping in search of a mate.
Since arriving, the mother beaver has given birth twice: first to a single kit in 2024, and then to a litter of four last year.
"We see them all on cameras but we wanted to be able to microchip them so we can identify them individually," said McDonald.
"We only caught the two of them this time, so we'll try again from September - and by then we might have more kits from this summer."
Beavers are nocturnal, so the rangers leave the traps out overnight to increase the chances of capture.
Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor, and Instagram for updates.
