The wild beaver that decided to swim to Swanage and tried to make a home next to the town’s toilets has been caught on camera mating, following her relocation back to Studland in Dorset.
A trail camera, set up to monitor the pair of beavers released into the wild in March 2025 at the National Trust-owned Little Sea in Studland, recorded a rare clip of the beavers’ courtship, appropriately around Valentine’s weekend in February 2026.
Beaver Trust
Government minister for nature Mary Creagh and MP for South Dorset Lloyd Hatton release the beavers at Studland in March 2025
Nighttime mating session
Posting the video on social media of the nighttime mating session, the National Trust, with its tongue firmly in cheek, labelled the footage with an explicit content warning, much to the amusement of many.
The beaver has a gestation period of about three and a half months so there is a chance she could give birth to baby beavers called kits around the end of May or beginning of June 2026.
This is the latest chapter in an extraordinary story about the first beavers in England for centuries to be released into the wild rather than an enclosure – witnessed by government minister for nature Mary Creagh, MP for South Dorset Lloyd Hatton, plus media organisations.
Mark Singleton
What a girl, as she heads for the bright lights of Swanage
But makes the surprising choice to set up home in the stream next to the Main Beach car park toilets!
Swanage toilet block
Maybe the female beaver enjoyed being in the media spotlight, as she was soon hitting the headlines again when in May 2025 reports came into the National Trust that a beaver had been spotted in a stream in Swanage outside the town centre’s Conservative Club.
Initially there was understandable scepticism that the passer-by had correctly identified a beaver as he came out of the Con Club that evening.
However he persisted and another sighting was reported further up Swan Brook by the toilets in the car park at King George’s playing fields.
At this point the team at the National Trust realised they needed to check this out and to their complete surprise discovered evidence that a beaver was indeed making a home known as a lodge in the stream next door to the toilet block.
All of the released beavers have identification chips, so the National Trust was able to confirm that the beaver who had unexpectedly turned up in Swanage was indeed the first female beaver released in March 2025.
It was a quite remarkable discovery as there are no river networks linking the two areas and the team can only assume the beaver swam round Old Harry along the coast to get to the town.
National Trust trail cam
Returned to Little Sea in May 2025 and reunited with the male beaver
Beaver Trust
It’s hoped she will now settle down at Little Sea but who knows what future adventure may beckon!
Studland water treatment works
The decision was made to apply for a licence to trap the beaver in consultation with the Beaver Trust and she was rehomed back at Little Sea in Studland and reunited with her original male beaver.
All was going well until she got itchy feet again and decided to head off to the Wessex Water treatment works at Studland, where deep lagoons offered easy swimming and plenty of feeding opportunities.
This time her mate followed her but the water company felt it wasn’t an ideal location so the area was fenced off encouraging the pair to move on.
Fortunately they found a small steam and water-filled ditch near Little Sea where they have built a lodge and it now looks likely they will be welcoming kits later in 2026.
National Trust
The mating ritual includes courtship grooming and then swimming closely together in the water
National Trust
Mating occurs in the water, often in cold, dark conditions
“It’s incredibly rare”
Wetlands project officer for the National Trust in Purbeck Gen Crisford said:
“This is one of the pairs of beavers that we released into the wild at Little Sea last year, so it is their first breeding season here.
“It’s incredibly rare to see beavers mating, so we are lucky that one of our trail cameras captured this special moment. It is a clear sign that they’ve settled into their new home.
“Our monitoring programme, using dedicated volunteers and trail cameras, keeps us informed about the health and wellbeing of the beavers.”
Watch the beavers having their ‘special moment’
Further informationMore updates about the Studland beavers on the National Trust website and its Purbeck Countryside Facebook page