A couple in Wales noticed some damage in their garden. When the damage persisted, they got a camera to figure out what was causing it. To their surprise, they discovered a wild animal considered locally extinct for 400 years, according to news reports.
The couple living in Pembrokeshire noticed some of their trees were gone and others looked “mauled,” they told The Telegraph on April 11.
“It looked like someone was hitting them with a machete,” the landowners told the U.K. outlet. “There are no deer in Pembrokeshire so we couldn’t work out what was causing the damage. The only clues were some teeth marks left in the bark.”
After about two weeks, the couple set up a night camera.
“To our astonishment, the camera showed a beaver swimming around our pond and eating our trees. We couldn’t believe it,” they told The Guardian.
Video footage showed the wild animal swimming in a pond, walking around the property and carrying sticks.
Wild beavers used to be a common sight across Wales, but the animal was hunted for its fur and meat, according to Wildlife Trusts Wales. The large rodent went extinct in Wales after the Middle Ages and the rest of Britain during the 16th century, wildlife officials said.
In recent years, beavers have been reintroduced in some areas across Great Britain, the organization said. One of these controlled beaver colonies is in Cors Dyfi, Wales.
The colony, however, is “more than 50 miles away” from Pembrokeshire, “monitored” and has reported “no escapes,” according to The Telegraph.
No one knows where the wild beaver chomping on the couple’s trees came from, The Telegraph reported. The most likely explanation is that a wildlife enthusiast released the animal, the outlet said.
Consequently, the couple is remaining anonymous to protect the beaver, The Guardian reported.
The couple nicknamed the wild beaver “Anthony,” they told The Guardian. “We love watching the beaver go about his business at night on the stealth cameras and with so much habitat and food we hope it will stay long term,” they said.
Pembrokeshire is about 240 miles northwest of London.
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