Overview
- A National Trust pair released under the first Natural England wild-release licence has built a 35‑metre dam at Little Sea in Studland, creating a deep pond and shifting the site from dense trees to open wetland.
- Trail cameras recorded the beavers mating, a rare sign that suggests kits could arrive this summer.
- Coppicing by the animals opened the canopy, and monitors have logged new wildlife using the pond, including an otter, a barn owl, redpoll and water rail.
- The dam now slows a small stream, which holds water during heavy rain and drought, filters sediment, and may be easing flood risk on a nearby road.
- The Trust has added licensed releases at Holnicote on Exmoor and plans another at Purbeck Heaths in autumn 2026, building on a project that also sits alongside an existing pair at the lake that previously raised three kits.