First baby beavers born in Hampshire for 400 years

Beavers have been born in Hampshire for the first time in 400 years.

Two kits were spotted in early July in an enclosure on the Ewhurst Park estate near Basingstoke - making them the first born in Hampshire since they went extinct in Britain in the 16th century.

Beavers play a key role in ecosystem management and mitigating flood risk.

The park's head of ecology management, Fiona Kenny, said it was "an incredible moment" when she first spotted the baby beavers.

"I was showing a group around the beaver enclosure when I heard a distinctive sploshing sound," she said.

"All of a sudden we were amazed to see a baby beaver splashing about in the water."

The kits have since been captured on camera, swimming, splashing and gnawing on bark.

Beavers were hunted to extinction in Britain in the 16th century.

"They were hunted for predominantly their fur but also for the castoreum which is an internal gland that was used for medicinal purposes and, until very recently, in perfumes," said Robert Needham, restoration manager at Beaver Trust.

"It was a very valuable animal."

The two babies were born to parents Chompy and Hazel, who were released into the enclosure in January 2023.

It was one of several places across England they were reintroduced to act as "ecosystem engineers", building dams and felling trees to provide vital habitat and resources for insects, fish, plants, birds and bats, and help to mitigate flooding risks.

The Ewhurst Park project is part of wider rewilding efforts on the former shooting estate, which was bought by Malaysian-born model and entrepreneur Mandy Lieu four years ago.

She said the changes the beavers had made to the landscape were "extraordinary".

Once the kits' sexes are known, a naming competition will be held for local children to take part in.