Flooding caused by beaver dams in Knapdale, Argyll, and Bute has created a natural “edge habitat” along the banks of watercourses, which would enable water voles to shield their borrows from predatory mink.

Credits: Getty Images; Author: Cavan Images;

Scottish water voles are thought to be descended from migrants of northern Iberia and are distinct from their cousins in England and Wales, but populations have plummeted by 90 percent since 1950.