Chip and Willow the beavers have arrived at the Mapperton Estate near Beaminster and are getting to know each other in their purpose-built enclosure in the Mapperton Wildlands.

The Beaver Trust organised the delivery of Chip who hails from Yorkshire, and Willow from the River Tay in Scotland.

Chip and Willow making themselves at home at Mapperton (Image: Sam Rose)

The pair of Eurasian beavers are both around two years old and the team at Mapperton hope that as healthy young adults the newcomers will bond and eventually mate.

They are not the first beavers to live at Mapperton. Woody and Twiggy, who arrived in 2022, made headlines in January when they went on the run and escaped just over a year ago following severe storms.

Woody and Twiggy arrived at Mapperton also seized the opportunity to escape in 2023 when a storm damaged their fenced enclosure and the public appeal was launched to find them. They were bribed to return with apples and parsnips.

Luke Montagu, the Earl of Sandwich, says that the estate will make sure this does not happen again: “Since then, we have made lots of reinforcements to the beaver enclosure, in particular to the area around the grille in the stream, which was smashed by rocks and logs during the storms. Now it’s a fortress.

Luke Montagu (left) and the team delivering the beavers to their new home at Mapperton. (Image: Sam Rose)

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“Chip and Willow don’t know each other, so obviously there is a risk that they won’t get on and initially Chip, the male, went upstream and Willow went in the opposite direction. But early indications are that the his-and-hers straw-bale lodge we’ve built for them has been used.

Chip and Willow making themselves at home at Mapperton (Image: Sam Rose)

“We are delighted that Chip and Willow are here as we haven’t had any beavers for quite a while and they are an integral part of the Mapperton Wildlands project.

“As well as being very grateful to the Beaver Trust for their assistance, we also want to thank Forestry England for giving Chip a home, and Five Sisters Zoo in West Lothian and Flamingo Land in North Yorkshire for providing beaver-friendly accommodations during Chip and Willow’s journey south.”

Next year visitors will be able to see the enclosure site and perhaps spot Chip and Willow. Three beaver-cams have also been set up so people can keep track of the pair’s escapades.

The Earl said that the pair are ready for Christmas. He added: “We have provided Chip and Willow with a seasonal feast of carrots, apples and tasty willow branches and a safe, warm space to live, so with any luck, perhaps there might be a bit of Christmas romance in the air.”