The sighting of a baby beaver in the UK county of Cheshire confirms the first breeding pair in the north west of England for over 400 years, and the transformation of local habitat.

Cheshire Wildlife Trust spotted the baby beaver - known as a kit - at their Hatchmere nature reserve, which is involved in a five-year restoration project to reintroduce beavers back into the wild.

Beavers, which are native to the UK, offer a chance to reverse wildlife decline by allowing nature to restore itself, improve water quality, and help control water flow.

The kit, who is yet to be named, is the offspring of two Eurasian beavers named Rowan and Willow. They were released into an enclosed site next to the nature reserve in November 2020.

Since their release the 'natural engineers' have have transformed the site into a wetland haven with dams and lodges. This has also encouraged previously unseen species into the area such as kingfishers, stoats, and waterfowl.

Kevin Feeney, reserves manager at Cheshire Wildlife Trust says, “The future of Hatchmere nature reserve is looking very positive since Rowan and Willow were released in 2020. The dams and wetlands they have created are helping us to reach our project aims to improve water quality within the catchment and help reverse the decline in Cheshire’s Wildlife.

"Monitoring is ongoing and the public’s support is inspiring. The arrival of the beaver kit is a real milestone that couldn’t have been achieved without our supporters."

The UK is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world, according to WWF. More than one-in-seven native species face extinction and more than 40% are in decline.

The Cheshire Wildlife Trust project is one of 25 beaver reintroductions in England, with other sites in the south-west, Kent, Gloucestershire, East Anglia, and Yorkshire.