Dyfi Wildlife Centre has received a report on how a beaver that died in its enclosure earlier this year sustained her fatal injuries - but mysteries remain.
A post-mortem report for Bedw, an adult beaver who was one of the first to be re-introduced to Wales, has been completed as the animal was put down in May after suffering a series of injuries.
Cors Dyfi Nature Reserve confirmed that the female beaver was euthanised on the advice of a vet when it became clear that the animal was carrying “several substantial injuries” that had become infected.
The post-mortem report ruled out any signs of disease or other animals getting into the enclosure, but did have a theory on how the beaver sustained her injuries.
A spokesperson from the group said: “The results from the post-mortem have shown that Bedw did not have signs of disease, but she did have a number of injuries, some of which had become infected.
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“We do not know the exact cause of the injuries, but we can rule out other animals getting into the enclosure as the fence is checked on a regular basis and there have been no signs of breaches into the enclosure.
“Beavers are very social animals and form tight bonds with their family members, however, on some occasions the adults may decide to try and move their older offspring on.
“It is possible that this is what happened in this situation and the offspring have stood their ground, this also happens in the wild.
“The post-mortem also found that Bedw had very little body fat, which is unusual for an adult beaver. This does, however, show that Bedw would have been a slightly weaker animal compared with her offspring and obtained injuries as a result.
“We also do not know how old Bedw was, and she could have been an elderly animal. Beavers live until around ten years and Bedw would have been a minimum three or four years old when she first arrived at Cors Dyfi in 2021.
“As you know we monitor the animals every night and it is through this monitoring that we noticed Bedw’s condition and sought veterinary advice. The remaining members of the beaver family are all well.”
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