by Katie Alston

Two beautiful baby beavers have made their debut at Wildwood, to the delight of park visitors.

The adorable newborns met the public of the first time last Thursday.

The kits, as they are known, will help with projects to restore the mammal back to our riverbanks, in an innovative conservation programme to protect and restore wetland habitats.

Wildwood Trust and Kent Wildlife Trust, who first brought the European beaver into the UK in 2001, have pioneered the use of beavers as a wildlife conservation tool.

The success of this project has inspired a number of other projects in Gloucestershire and in Scotland.

The baby beavers parents were given to Wildwood Trust as a gift of the German Government and they arrived in the UK earlier last year.

Their journey to Wildwood was documented in a special two part programme shown on BBC’s Countryfile.

Peter Smith, Wildwood’s Chief Executive, said: “More than 20 other countries, including France, Germany and Denmark have reintroduced beavers and the experience has been very positive.

“Beavers fit into the landscape very well and in places like Brittany they have become part of the environment, with minimal damage to agriculture and other forestry.

“Beaver dams would improve water quality, produce new habitats for fish and help reduce flooding.”

For more information visit www.wildwoodtrust.org or call 0871 782 0081.