Two beavers released into the wild on the National Trust's Holnicote Estate in Exmoor earlier this year have paired up, raising hopes they will start a family and help re-establish a breeding population in the area. Trail-camera footage captured the pair grooming each other and spending time together, behaviour conservationists say shows they are settling into the landscape and forming the social bonds typical of beaver mates, who usually pair for life. The development is seen as an encouraging sign for the wider rewilding effort, which aims to use beavers' natural dam-building to restore rivers and wetlands.

The beavers were released in February as part of the second wild release on National Trust land and the third in England since last year, with National Trust ranger Mathieu Burtschell describing the pairing as "really exciting" evidence that Holnicote offers suitable habitat, food and space. The estate spans 5,000 hectares in Somerset, and the animals are being monitored via trail cameras, since they are mostly nocturnal, to track how they move through the catchment and shape the surrounding habitat. Beavers, the world's second-largest rodent, typically live in small family groups, and their dams and canals can create new wildlife habitats while helping retain water in the landscape.