Two Beaver Families Confirmed to Have Bred at Longleat in 2025

Two beaver families have successfully bred kits at Longleat in Wiltshire, with the young captured on camera.

It demonstrates the positive state of biodiversity on the estate as it means, despite the drought this summer, the beaver families are healthy.

Dr Tom Lewis, Head of Conservation and Research at Longleat, said: "The beaver population at Longleat has grown from just two families in 2020 to four families in 2025; last year we had evidence of one family successfully breeding, however, camera trap videos show two of our beaver families happily eating and grooming each other.

“Each family had two to three kits, indicating that even in a drought year, they still found enough food to raise a healthy family.”

Beavers are still considered endangered in England, but local populations are increasing due to the natural expansion from established areas. The young beavers will stay with their families for around two years before dispersing to find a territory of their own in the local area.

Dr Tom said: “We were unable to monitor our other two territories due to dense vegetation, deep lodge locations, and restricted access during the drought.

“However, an increase in new feeding stations and the expansion of their foraging areas are all strong indications of successful breeding.

"Having beavers at Longleat helps us restore natural processes that increase biodiversity. In the drought, most streams dried up, but the beaver ponds held water, which was critical for other wildlife this summer.

“These ponds, created and maintained by the beavers themselves, support amphibians, fish, insects like dragonflies and flies, and the animals like bats that feed on them. Beavers support a whole network of species that rely on stable wetland habitats. Even during peak dry periods, the beaver wetlands remained vibrant hotspots of activity, which is fantastic for the conservation of native wildlife.”