Home / Environment / Norfolk's First Wild Beaver in Centuries Spotted!
Norfolk's First Wild Beaver in Centuries Spotted!
7 Dec, 2025
Summary
- A wild beaver was filmed building a lodge on the River Wensun.
- This marks the first wild beaver sighting in Norfolk since the 16th century.
- Camera traps captured the elusive nocturnal vegetarian at a nature reserve.
A remarkable wildlife event has unfolded in Norfolk with the confirmed sighting of a wild beaver, the first in the county since beavers were hunted to extinction in England in the early 16th century. The creature was filmed actively constructing a lodge and gathering food along the River Wensun at Pensthorpe nature reserve.
This solitary beaver, estimated to have been present for about a month, has found an ideal environment in a section of the reserve left to grow wild. It has been observed collecting willow trees and storing bark for the winter, demonstrating natural beaver behaviors that have been absent from Norfolk for over 500 years.
The return of wild beavers to England has been a slow process since 2015, with only a few reintroduction projects legally approved. While the origin of the Norfolk beaver remains unknown, it is a welcome presence, adding to the ten individual wild populations now recognized across England.
