Eurasian beaver

The Eurasian or European beaver (Castor fiber) occurs from Western Europe eastwards to the Chinese-Mongolian border region. The world population of beavers is thought to be around 1 million individuals, most of which occur towards Eastern Europe.

Beavers inhabit riparian broadleaved woodland next to standing freshwaters or slow moving streams. Totally herbivorous, beavers will feed on herbaceous and woody broadleaved species. These monogamous animals live in family groups and favour burrows in banks as nesting places.

Beavers will sometimes:

• build lodges of piled logs – where it’s not possible to burrow
• dam streams – to maintain water levels
• construct canals – to enable travel away from the main body of water

While beavers present challenges for some aspects of land use, restoration of this ‘ecosystem engineer’ will benefit a wide range of species and habitats.

Overview of the beaver’s decline

The Eurasian beaver was once widespread across Britain. Some paleontological and archaeological finds, along with written historical accounts, suggest that it was present in Scotland until the early 16th century. Over-hunting of the beaver, particularly for its valuable pelt, appears to have been the main cause of its extinction. 

Beavers return to Scotland

The reintroduction of the Eurasian beaver to Scotland has been a major topic of interest and debate since the mid-1990s. A trial reintroduction in Knapdale, Argyll began in 2009, the first licensed reintroduction of a mammalian species in Britain. In the meantime, there were increasing numbers of reports of beavers in Tayside, resulting from accidental or illegal releases. Scottish Ministers announced in 2016 that they were minded to allow both the Tayside and Knapdale populations to remain. This was formalised in 2019 when the Scottish Parliament approved legislation that made the Eurasian beaver a European Protected Species in Scotland.

Beaver activities

Find out more about beavers and common activities - Understanding the Ecosystem Engineer.

Learn more about the work that NatureScot’s beaver team is doing to help everyone in Scotland live alongside beavers again - Beavers in Scotland: Learning to live with nature's engineers

Report a sighting

Find out how to submit records of mammal sightings on The Mammal Society website.