'Major milestone' as beavers released into Loch Ness area

A family of six beavers have been released into the Loch Ness catchment, 500 years since the species was last recorded there.

The beavers were reintroduced to the Dundreggan rewilding estate in Glenmoriston, having been relocated from elsewhere in Scotland.

The Ness Beaver Project will reintroduce at least 15 beaver family groups into lochs, lochans and rivers around Loch Ness over the next three years.

Beavers were first reintroduced to Scotland in 2009 after being hunted to extinction about 400 years ago.

The family consists of a mother beaver, two juveniles that are about two years old, and three young beavers who were born earlier this year.

NatureScot has approved the release and has granted a licence to Trees for Life and the Beaver Trust.

Steve Micklewright, chief executive of Trees for Life, said it was a "very beautiful thing to see" the animals back in their natural habitat.

He said: "I can see them swimming and very calm, which is a really good sign."

He added that the beavers looked "very settled" and relaxed straight away.

The project is designed to allow beaver populations to connect and grow in a suitable habitat, including woodlands and hundreds of miles of river and loch banks.

The beavers came from areas where they were having a negative impact on prime agricultural land and where mitigation measures had not been successful or possible.