A wildlife enthusiast from Invergowrie “couldn’t believe his luck” when he made a rare sighting of a beaver while carrying out his early-morning paper deliveries.
David Leckie (45), who works at the Forum Centre pet shop, was travelling his usual route when at 4am on Friday he came across the aquatic rodent sitting on the banks of a stream.
“I usually spot a lot of wildlife around that time such as deer, foxes and mallard so I am always on the lookout,” said David.
“I was coming down by Alastair Soutar Crescent and Greystane Terrace when I saw the beaver beside the water munching on some vegetation.
“It was like a huge rat with a large flattened tail.
“I couldn’t believe it! I stood there for a couple of minutes and then went to get my camera but it wasn’t there when I got back.”
The former Camperdown Wildlife Centre volunteer then contacted the Dundee zoo which told him they had given away their collection of beavers many years ago.
“I know that pairs have been released into the wild in Argyll but I didn’t think they could travel that far and I wouldn’t have thought it was someone’s pet!”
David added he would be taking his camera in future in the hope of capturing a snapshot of the beast.
“I am amazed to have seen a beaver in Invergowrie. I’m not 100% sure if it will stick around but hopefully I’ll manage to get a picture of it.”
In May last year, four pairs of beavers which are not native to Scotland were formally released in the wild at mid-Argyll’s Knapdale Forest as part of a trial reintroduction of the animals to the UK.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and the Scottish Wildlife Trust are overseeing the pilot project, which aims to determine how beavers will cope in Scottish habitats and assess their impact on the country’s environment by monitoring them over five years.
However, a spokeswoman from the SWT said the beaver could not have belonged to its set.
“Beavers do travel some distance to find a mate but it isn’t one of ours,” she said. “It is not viable that a beaver could travel from mid-Argyll to the Dundee area in such a time period.
“There have been sightings of feral beavers in other areas of the country but they may have escaped from private collections.”
Picture used under the Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user gainesp2003.