Five beavers living wild on a river in England have been captured and found to be free of a disease harmful to humans, officials have said.
Beavers, which were hunted to extinction in the UK, have been reintroduced and are being monitored across the country, including in Tayside and Argyll.
The results in England mean the beavers should be released back into the wild on the River Otter in the next few weeks.
Government agency Natural England has given the green light to a five-year trial monitoring and managing the impact of beavers on the river after a campaign by conservationists to allow the aquatic mammals to remain.
Ministers had said they intended to capture the beavers, test for disease and rehome them in captivity, but the move was opposed by wildlife experts who put forward plans for a trial scheme, with the support of local people.
Devon Wildlife Trust has been given a licence to monitor and manage the population the only wild beavers in England subject to them being free of disease.
The trust is awaiting the results of tests for a range of diseases, required as part of the licence, but in a statement said: “We are confident that we will be able to announce the beavers’ return to the Otter in the near future.”