A baby beaver is said to be "thriving" after it was released at a Northumberland National Trust site earlier this year.

In July 2023, a family of four Eurasian beavers were released onto the Wallington Estate site near Cambo as part of plans to boost wildlife and increase the landscape's resilience to a changing climate. Two adult beavers and two of the young were relocated from wild populations in the River Tay catchment in Scotland to their new home in a 24-hectare fenced enclosure on a tributary of the River Wansbeck.

The adult female was found to be pregnant when she was moved from the River Tay and taken into conservation charity Beaver Trust's holding facilities at Five Sisters Zoo. A series of health checks, care and monitoring took place to ensure the female and her family were calm and comfortable to give the unborn beaver kit the best chance.

• Read more: Northumberland National Trust estate to be a safe haven site for endangered mammal

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The release on July 12 was the Beaver Trust's third release in England, following introductions of the mammals in Exmoor in 2020 and the South Downs in 2021. The beavers at Wallington are one of the very few populations in northern England and the new kit has is said to have settled in "really well" along with the other beavers.

Paul Hewitt, countryside manager at Wallington, said: "The news that the kit was born safe and well was wonderful and made the anticipation of release day even more special. They've been here for four months now and are all happy and healthy, having settled in brilliantly. They're already making changes to the landscape and we're really looking forward to seeing what they do over the coming months and years."

Dr Romain Pizzi, independent specialist wildlife veterinarian, said: "We knew as soon as we discovered that the female was expecting this would be a different challenge than we initially expected but it couldn’t have gone better. Ensuring the health of the whole family, including the newborn kit was crucial and we look forward to seeing them thrive now in their new surroundings”

"With the kit looking strong and healthy, the family were transported down to Northumberland where they were released on July 12. Footage from the estate shows that the beavers are settling in well and already beginning to transform their surroundings as hoped."

Dr Roisin Campbell-Palmer, head of restoration at Beaver Trust, said: "The fact that we have a healthy young kit that has been born and raised by its family relatively normally and is now acting naturally in its new home is a testament to everyone involved at Beaver Trust and Five Sisters Zoo prioritising the family's welfare and working extremely hard to keep the whole process, from trapping and transport to monitoring, to the care in captivity, sufficiently low stress. I'm really proud to have been a part of it."

Beavers were once a mainstay of British rivers, but became extinct in the 16th century due to being hunted for their fur, meat and scent glands. Their reintroduction in Northumberland forms part of the Wilder Wallington project, with includes encouraging the migration of pine martens, restoring hedgerows and areas of peatland, planting trees, tackling invasive non-non-native species, and supporting farmers to incorporate nature into their business plans an alleviating flooding.

The Beaver Trust have created a video of the animals' introduction to Northumberland which can be viewed online on Beaver Trust’s YouTube Channel and at The Wallington Estate’s visitor centre and cafe.