FAQ: How will you track released animals?
The Scottish Beaver Trial has several dedicated staff members whose job it is to monitor and track all the beavers. Tracking the activities of animals in the wild requires a lot of hours, patience, skill and team-work. Members of the Field team spent time in Norway prior to the start of the Trial in order to developing their expertise in beaver monitoring and trapping.
At the time of release all beavers were fitted with a radio transmitting tag, which helped to closely monitor them for the first few important weeks as they settled down in their new homes. These tags were carefully glued onto the animals' rumps and tended to last 4-12 weeks once out in the wild. More recently, adult beavers have been fitted with GPS tags to establish how far the beavers travel over a specific period – and how far they travel from their lodges during seasonal changes.
The beaver families continue to be closely tracked all year-round via a variety of techniques including field sign surveys, direct observation and trapping for health assessments. Beavers are ear tagged and have microchips so individuals can be distinguished.
In addition, the beaver's environment and other species that live there will also be carefully observed and recorded using methods including water quality testing, camera traps and field sign surveys.
More FAQ's - Environmental impact of beavers
- Do beavers cause a lot of environmental damage?
- What impact did the beavers have in Knapdale Forest?
- What is the conservation status of Knapdale Forest and will species in the area continue to be safeguarded?
- How did the Trial measure the environmental impacts of beavers?
- Do beavers cause damage to farmland and the wider countryside?
- Do beavers pose a flooding threat?
- Is there compensation for damage?
- What impact will the beavers have on migratory fish?
- What impact did the beavers have on water quality and hydrology?
- How will you track released animals?
- What will happen if beavers stray outside the Trial area?
- Will the beaver population get out of control as they have no natural predators?
- Do beavers transmit disease?
