Wild beaver kits born in eastern England for first time in over 500 years

NORFOLK, England (CBS, KYMA) - Wild beaver kits have mysteriously been born in Norfolk, England, for the first time in over 500 years.

What started with the unexplained appearance of a single free-living beaver on the River Wensum last November has now become a family of four.

Footage captured by Pensthorpe Natural Park confirmed two kits are living alongside Norfolk's established wild beaver pair.

Richard Spowage, Reserve Manager at Pensthorpe, said, "When that first beaver appeared last year, none of us could have predicted where this story would lead. To now see two kits on our cameras, growing up wild here in Norfolk, is an extraordinary moment."

Pensthorpe has not released any beavers and does not know the origin of the adult pair.

Beavers were once a natural part of Britain's rivers and wetlands before being hunted to extinction.

According to NPR, U.K. biologists have been reintroducing beavers in some protected areas since 2009, leading environmental activists to release other beavers in unsanctioned operations called "beaver bombing."