Eurasian Beaver

Róisín Campbell-Palmer is Conservation Projects Manager for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, where she has worked for 12 years. She is Field Operations Manager for the Scottish Beaver Trial and is currently undertaking her PhD in beaver health and welfare.Derek Gow is a freelance ecologist who has worked with beavers and water voles in Britain for over 20 years. He has advised Natural England and Countryside Council for Wales on beaver reintroduction.Robert Needham has a BSc in Wildlife Management and an MSc in Ecology. He is currently undertaking a PhD on the relationship between beaver dams and the movement of fish. He has worked on the Scottish Beaver Trial for the past three and a half years.Simon Jones is Director of Conservation at the Scottish Wildlife Trust. He was previously the Project Manager for the Scottish Beaver Trial and has worked in wildlife conservation and reserve management for over 20 years.Frank Rosell is a renowned beaver ecologist, publishing more than 80 scientific papers with peer review. He is professor in behaviour ecology at Telemark University College, Norway, and was part of the advisory board of the Scottish Beaver Trial.

The authors provide an update on their experiences direct from the field, the quarantine area and the veterinary table. This fascinating book promotes a future co-existence with beavers in Britain by providing factual information on their biology, behaviour and the habitats they help to generate.This remarkable, unassuming animal has the capacity to help renaturalise our rivers, re-create areas of wetland, increase biodiversity, provide natural flood defence, protect soils and filter and purify our water.

• Chapters include: Introduction: folklore and history. Beaver Biology and Behaviours: taxonomy; identification; adaptations for a semi-aquatic lifestyle; adaptations for a life on land; breeding; social behaviour; defensive behaviours; chemical communication and scent marking behaviours; food processing and foraging behaviour. Habitat and Population Biology: life history; movements, activity and territoriality. Beaver Field Signs: teeth marks; felled and gnawed trees; grazing lawns/vascular plants; feeding stations; foraging trails; lodges and burrows; dams; canals; scent mounds; faeces; tracks/prints. Observing Beavers: remote camera trapping. Beavers in Modern Landscapes: beavers and the law; beavers as ecosystem engineers; the return of the beaver.