The first ever wild beavers have been released in a Dorset nature reserve, more than 400 years after their extinction in Britain. Two pairs of the semi-aquatic animals are making a new home at Little Sea lake in Studland,

The Eurasian beaver will return to the wild across England for the first time in 400 years, the government has announced, as applications to return beavers into river catchments across the country will now be accepted.

Beavers have not been legally released into the wild since the 16th century after they were heavily hunted to extinction in mainland Britain for their fur, meat and scent glands.