Ecological hiking trail – stop 15.1:
Beaver in the town

In middle of the 19th century, the European beaver (Castor fiber) was close to extinction. 100 years later, “Master Brockert”, as locals like to call beavers, returned to their native habitat due to strict environmental laws and reintroduction measures. Since beavers shape their landscapes actively, conflicts between them and humans may arise in heavily built-up areas.

Weiden’s beaver population has grown steadily since 1995. The rodents have left their mark                       virtually everywhere along the bank of the Naab and its tributaries. The stamina and meticulousness with which they adapt to any given habitat is both marvelled at and frowned upon. Felled trees, clogged drainage systems, undermined dams, and water streets providing easy access to field crops are not only annoying but also, at times, dangerous in places where the cultivation of fields extends to the banks of the river.

But do not resort to traps, poison, or spade since the beaver is protected by German Federal Law and European Law. Any action that you take to get rid of the Castor fiber will be prosecuted under criminal law. Therefore, you should always consult the Department for Nature Conservation first.

Food

In the first eight weeks, young beavers are nursed by their mothers. After that, they turn to a strictly vegetarian diet. Therefore, do not believe the fairy tales of fish-eating beavers. I the summer, they feed off grass, herbs, and water plants. Sometimes, they take a stroll to the water-adjacent fields to feast on corn, carrots, or grain.

Since beavers do not hibernate, they have to depend on the bark, twigs, and buds as food to keep them warm during winter. They cannot climb and that is why they fell trees such as willows to access food. If the tree is removed, beavers do not have any choice but to fell another tree. So if you see a felled tree lying around close to a river bank, make sure it stays there so that beavers are able to feed off that tree as along a possible and leave other trees alone.

Conflicts

The greatest conflict potential lies between the beaver and the human being. Both want to enforce their right to protect their property. Who of us wants to wake up in the morning and realize that the tree had been felled and that the garden is under water? However, beavers have undergone an evolutionary process of 15 Mio years and just follow their instincts. The habitat of the beaver is the riparian zone inclusive of stream bed. Thus, the beaver might be right and humans wrong. The flood in 1995 has shown that building up and narrowing stream beds may cause huge problems. Rain water runoff is drained off too fast and cannot be stored by the damaged rivers. Department stores and apartment buildings protected by levees have replaced the wetland where the spring flood used to drown the adjacent meadows.

Martin Scheidler