Beaver spotted in River Adur revealed as Knepp Estate escapee

A stunned dog walker couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the beaver swimming in the river near Lancing College on Wednesday.

Beaver have been absent from Sussex for the past 400 years - but the Knepp Estate has now confessed: He’s one of ours.

And they are appealing to the public to help get him back to Knepp.

The beaver - nicknamed Bramber - is one of two that quietly joined the rewilding project in November.

Ecologist Penny Green said: “Both Knepp Estate and Sussex Wildlife Trust agreed that, for ecological and conservation reasons, the beavers were best left with minimal disturbance in order to settle into their new home.

“Once safely established, an announcement would be made in the spring. So, no fanfare accompanied the momentous arrival. The beavers, however, have made their own debut.

“Beavers are notorious for their explorative natures, especially as they orientate themselves in a new landscape and work out territory boundaries.”

The beavers’ extensive terrain at Knepp was reinforced with fencing, electric wire and grilles to prevent them heading downstream - but the male of the pair was determined to explore.

Knepp owner Sir Charles Burrell said: “Beavers are very good at existing under the radar in the slower, deeper parts of catchments, and we’re anticipating that he’s found a quiet part of the Adur, probably in an area that contains plenty of willow.

“We’re keen to retrieve him from where he’s currently living and bring him back home to Knepp, where a mate awaits him.”

Henri Brocklebank, director of conservation at Sussex Wildlife Trust said: “We are asking local people to play a role in getting this beaver back to Knepp. Although free-living beavers are a great ambition for Sussex in the future, the Knepp release is licensed, so Bramber needs to be retrieved.”

Experts say that, as beavers are nocturnal, if you know you are near one during the day, you should stay quiet and behave unobtrusively.

Anyone who spots any potential feeding signs - or even Bramber himself - is asked to email [email protected] with the following information: Your name and contact details: Location name and description: Grid reference, nearest postcode or ‘what three words’: Date and time of beaver sighting or feeding signs found: What you saw: Photo/video of beaver if possible.

“This information will be very much appreciated and will help us locate Bramber,” said Penny. “Once the beavers are fully established at Knepp, we look forward to sharing much more about these remarkable creatures and their role as ecosystem engineers but, for now, we just want to get ‘Bramber’ home.”

Watch beaver swimming along River Adur