Beaver Enclosure Completion Delayed by Flooding

The reintroduction of beavers into a county, an event anticipated for 400 years, has been postponed due to “extreme flooding”. A £180,000 habitat for the beavers, located in the Nene Wetlands nature reserve near Rushden in Northamptonshire, was initially expected to be finished last month. However, the local Wildlife Trust, collaborating with Anglian Water on the release of a beaver family into a new enclosure at Delta Pit, has indicated that completion is now targeted “before Christmas”. Upon completion of the work, the location, situated close to the Rushden Lakes shopping centre, will include a viewing platform, allowing visitors to observe the animals. Metal fence posts are being utilized for the project due to beavers’ ability to chew through wood. Additionally, mitigation strategies are being implemented to prevent the animals from escaping the enclosure by going over or under it. The beavers destined for the reserve are presently under the care of the Beaver Trust in Tayside, Scotland. In an update posted on X, the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire stated: “After installing our beaver proof fence earlier this year, we had originally signed off with the Beaver Trust in September that our fence was suitable for release, with a few minor adjustments to be made.” The Trust further explained: “However, after extreme flooding in October, we were asked by the Beaver Trust to make some larger scale amendments to the northern section of the fence – most of which is still under water.” It also mentioned that working in wet and muddy conditions was not “fun” and had proved “tricky”. Nevertheless, it added that efforts to finish the 400m (0.25 mile) fence are scheduled to recommence this week, and “we are keeping our fingers crossed for beavers before Christmas”.