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360° Scottish beaver trail
Join us on a 360° loch-side walk in Knapdale to look for signs of beavers, an animal which has been successfully reintroduced to Scotland.
For the first time in over 400 years the forests of Argyll in western Scotland are now home to the Eurasian beaver. In the first official reintroduction of a native mammal to the UK, four families of beavers were released onto the lochs of Knapdale where they quickly began building lodges, damming rivers and felling trees.
The beaver is what are known as a keystone species, an animal which disproportionately impacts the environment in which it lives. Not only do the mammals have the ability to rapidly alter the ecosystem to benefit themselves, but the changes they cause also benefit countless other species from amphibians and fish to insects, birds and plants.
In the 360° video above, join Pete Creech, Environmental Interpretation Officer at the Heart of Argyll Wildlife Organisation, as he takes us around one of the original release sites in Knapdale and tells us more about these ecosystem engineers.
Want to make your own wildlife discoveries?
There are many ways to get involved with the nature where you live, from joining local wildlife groups to taking part in mass citizen science surveys or just using specialist apps to identify and log what you see around you. Check out our Take Part pages for more ideas and information on on how to get involved.
