Beavers are Back in Scotland – Everything you need to know
Beavers were common in Scotland for thousands of years until they were hunted to extinction about 400 years ago. Now, beavers are back in Scotland with their population expanding and growing. So, this is a good time to learn more about beavers and the benefits, opportunities, and impacts they can bring.
What are beavers?
Beavers (the Eurasian beaver) are native Scottish animals that live in and around freshwater such as rivers, streams and lochs.
They are the second largest rodent in the world. They are semiaquatic animals with waterproof outer fur, webbed back feet and a large, flat tail which acts like a rudder when swimming. They can hold their breath under water for up to 15 minutes.
Beavers live in freshwater such as rivers, streams and lochs. But they can travel via saltwater.
They build lodges and burrows to live in with underwater entrances.
Beaver benefits
Beavers have many benefits for climate and nature.
They are a ‘keystone species’ because their presence and activities have many benefits for other wildlife, plants and habitats.
They are also known as ‘ecosystem engineers’ because their activities shape and create wetland areas that benefit many other animals and plants.
They can also reduce flooding, improve water quality, and bring socio-economic benefits such as tourism business opportunities.
Why beavers are back in Scotland
Beavers began being reintroduced to Scotland through a planned trial in Knapdale Forest, Argyll in 2009. Around the same time, beavers were also confirmed in Perthshire due to accidental or illegal releases.
In 2022, Scotland’s Beaver Strategy was published supporting a vision of beaver restoration, allowing translocations (movements from one area to another) while at the same time managing any negative impacts.
Between 2023 and 2025, more than 150 beavers were released to the wild. This included releases to Loch Lomond, the Forth catchment, the Cairngorms National Park, Knapdale, Tayside, the Trossachs and the Beauly catchment.
The beaver population is growing and will continue to spread across Scotland.
This is partly through planned releases to new suitable areas, as well as through natural expansion as young beavers grow up, leave their family units and start families of their own.
A protected species
Beavers became a legally protected species in Scotland in 2019.
This aims to protect and restore their populations to a ‘favourable conservation status’ as part of wider protections of endangered, vulnerable and valuable species and habitats.
Beaver behaviour
- Felling trees - Beavers fell trees for building material as well as bark for food. They prefer trees with soft wood such as willow, birch, alder, aspen, ash, poplar and hazel, but what they will eat is relative to what is available.
The felling of native trees stimulates the growth of new shoots and root growth, which can extend the life of some species and result in the strengthening of riverbanks.
Tree felling also opens up woodland canopy, allowing light to reach the ground, enabling the regeneration of vegetation, increasing the diversity of plants and improving feeding opportunities for other wildlife.
- Building dams: Beavers build dams to create deep water ponds to protect themselves and provide safe access to larger areas of habitat for feeding. They feel safest in water. They also use logs, sticks, mud, stones and vegetation to build ‘lodges’ to live in. These have underwater entrances and exits, or burrows, which you can't always see from above.
- Looking for food - Beavers live on plants found in and around water, bark, and young tree shoots. They mostly look for food and building materials close to the water’s edge (within around 20m or so).
Potential impacts
While beavers bring ecological benefits, in some situations they can have negative impacts. This can include damaging property and infrastructure and causing problems for land management or other important species. Beavers are strong animals and they can be persistent.
Common impacts include:
- Tree felling – Sensitive or important trees may need protection to prevent them from being felled. For example, fencing around areas of trees or wrapping individual trees with wire mesh.
- Burrowing – Burrowing can undermine and weaken structures, including river banks, infrastructure and paths, posing a risk to the safety of the public and farm machinery. Burrowing into floodbanks and bunds can increase the risk of erosion and collapse, leading to flooding of agricultural land and damage to crops.
- Damming – Damming can cause localised flooding problems for land managers and people, and in some situations can affect the habitats and passage of migratory fish.
Management and mitigation
Many of these impacts have potential cost implications for land managers if land used for agriculture is affected, or they need to install mitigation measures.
There are several ways to manage the impacts of beavers. It’s important to choose the right approach for each location and situation to avoid further problems.
When beavers became a protected species in Scotland, a hierarchy for beaver management was put in place. This follows these steps:
- Accommodation (wherever possible)
- Mitigation/management (when required)
- Translocation (if necessary)
- Lethal control (as a last resort)
Information and Advice
NatureScot provides free expert advice on living with beavers and where appropriate, how to manage beaver activity.
In some cases, funding may be available to support mitigation works or projects that trial new mitigation approaches.
Licences for translocation of beavers and removal of dams must be obtained from NatureScot.
For more information go to NatureScot’s Beavers in Scotland webpage.
