For the first time in five centuries, beavers have returned to the catchment around Loch Ness following the successful reintroduction of a family of six.

The animals were relocated from another part of Scotland under licence from NatureScot and released on Wednesday at a lochan on Dundreggan, a 10,000-acre rewilding estate in Glenmoriston managed by the charity Trees for Life.

Speaking shortly after the event to the Press Association, Steve Micklewright, chief executive of Trees for Life, described watching the animals return to their native habitat as a "very beautiful thing to see".

"I can see them swimming and very calm, which is a really good sign," he said, noting that the family appeared "very settled" right away.

The group comprises a mother, two two-year-old juveniles, and three kits born earlier this year.

They were originally captured in Tayside, where they had been creating difficulties for local farmers, before being taken to a specialist zoo facility for health screening and subsequently…