Lonesome beaver remains at large

By Jonathan Morris
BBC News South West

The beaver caused a 60ft tree to be felled

It was the great escape - beaver style.

Three beavers fled their pens at a wildlife studies centre in Devon last October. One still remains at large.

Somewhere near Gunnislake on the banks of the River Tamar lurks a solitary beaver.

And he has been busy doing what beavers do.

The mounting piles of fallen trees and footmarks have the unmistakeable imprint of the beaver.

Salmon worry

Some he has attempted to tackle may be too much even for him.

Upcott Grange has spent £10,000 on new fences

One 60ft tree nearly came toppling down after a heavy chomping session from the errant beaver.

He left the tree so badly damaged a lumberjack had to finish the job and fell what remained of it.

But there have been no sightings yet.

Back at the beaver's former home, Upcott Grange near Launceston, they want to make sure there can be no more escapes and have erected a new £10,000 fence.

The wildlife studies centre is planning to release 17 beavers into the Scottish highlands as a trial.

Opponents fear that salmon could be halted by the beavers' dams, but beaver backers say the dams are easily knocked down and their tree-felling antics create a habitat for new plants and wildlife to flourish.

Beavers from Upcott Grange are to be released into the Scottish Highlands

After 500 years since they last roamed wild, some think it could be time for the furry forest dwellers to make a comeback.

Derek Gow of Upcott Grange said: "The recapture has been put on hold because there has been such significant interest in the animal that if we spend money on traps they could be interfered with.

"With the rain we are having at the moment, the levels are going up and down very rapidly and if we set a trap the beaver could drown.

"We are going to wait until the weather calms down before trapping it."

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Three beavers escaped from a farm and one is still at large