WHEN FISHERIES manager Eoin Christie saw a large willow tree had blown over at the side of Sandyknowes Fishery, Bridge of Earn a couple of months ago, he thought nothing of it.

Then when some smaller trees, also willows, were also felled he thought someone with an axe had been busy.

But as the felling continued and some of the felled trees were nowhere to be seen, Eoin looked more closely at the stumps.

And instead of axe marks he saw the marks of sharp incisor teeth and realised the villain was not a vandal but a beaver.

“It’s been here for some time, but no-one has seen it,” said Eoin. “But Brett, as we’ve started calling it, is making his mark.”

Trees up to 10 inches in width can be felled in a night, with smaller branches also being cut down. And in each case it’s a willow that’s felled.

Still not quite believing his eyes, Eoin called in Allan Clark, wildlife liaison officer with Tayside Police, and after inspecting the stumps and contacting other experts, Allan confirmed what Eoin had guessed—a beaver is now in residence at the fishery.

The animal is strictly nocturnal, for not one of the many anglers who fish the popular water have reported seeing it.

Just where it came from, however, is a mystery. Inquiries by Allan to local wildlife parks provided no word of a missing beaver, so it’s also not known if it is a European beaver or its American cousin.

It is thought the beaver may have come up the burn from the River Earn and found that Sandyknowes, with its ample supply of willows and an island to build its lodge on, is the perfect place to set up home.

“We can see where it has created an entrance among the bushes on the smaller of the two islands, so we assume it’s resting up among the bushes there,” said Eoin.

* Earlier this year, the Scottish Executive turned down proposals backed by the Scottish Wildlife Trust among others to re-introduce European beavers to Scotland.