Last years youngsters are exploring the riverside, munching on ivy and bramble.
What we didn't know when we were watching and filming the beaver family in March 2023 was that it would be the last time we were to see Mrs Bob for good.
What happened to her is unknown, her body was never found, but as another dead beaver with bite marks from a territorial fight was found nearby, chances are that she was wounded and succumbed to her injuries.
She was the first beaver I watched at the river. Initially we had thought that she is a male due to the big size , which is why she was called Bob, the beaver. Only after Devon Wildlife Trust was given the go ahead with the trial and the beavers had to be caught and tested and 'Bob' returned with the pink tag, did I find out that 'Bob' was the female, so we changed her name to Mrs Bob.
Not just was she half tame - I had her sitting next to me many times when I was watching and filming the beaver family - , but she was also an extraordinary mum, with 5-6 kits most years and many if not most of the beavers in the river and side streams will be her offspring and grand- if not even great grandchildren.
She will never be forgotten! The river is not the same without her.
RIP Mrs Bob
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