A baby beaver has been unveiled at a Herne Bay conservation park - days after its unexpected arrival.

Keepers at Wildwood did not know its mother was pregnant until she gave birth last Monday.

Staff will be asking members to help name the kit, as they are known, although they are unable to determine its sex until later in its development.

Spokeman Fiona Paterson said: "Our beaver mum had three young last year but showed no signs of being pregnant until her new baby arrived a week ago."

Beaver's surprise arrival

The cuddly ball of fluff will become part of Wildwood Trust's conservation programme, reintroducing beavers to Wales' rivers.

Its parents were given to the charity as a gift by the German government and featured in a two-part edition of BBC Countryfile.

Wildwood Trust and Kent Wildlife Trust first brought the European beaver into the UK in 2001 and have pioneered the use of beavers to protect and restore wetland habitats.