Chonk

I've never seen an animal with two such contrasting forms. In the water, gliding peacefully and gracefully along, you could be looking at the effortlessness of a large otter; out of the water? Total Chonk.

The Perthshire Beaver Safari that I got for my Christmas could not have gone better. They did claim a 95% hit rate (possibly higher) (they also do canoe trips, but there's only around a 30% success rate on that apparently), but I didn't expect to sit watching a couple (out of a family unit of 6 currently) floating by a few times, with one coming out onto the bank opposite for a 10 minute scratching session.

I've gone looking for them a couple of times, and while I've seen signs, never caught an actual glimpse, so this was well worth it - and their stretch of river is on a public, core path, so as long as you're not disturbing them, having paid for the intel and the patience I can now go back and see them again if I want. Which is kinda awesome.

(As a volunteer Trustee on the Board  of the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Beavers are something of a success story for the trust. It was before y time starting (which comes to an end this year after my second term!) but it did mean I've been keen to see them from the start).