Beavers saved millions from state budget
12 February 2025
Imagine being a bureaucrat, planning a river revitalisation project for years, only to find out someone else was faster. They got the job done silently, effectively and without official documentation or funding. The mysterious project architects turn out to be no humans but animals: European beavers!
This may sound like the beginning of a fable, yet it's a real story from the protected natural area Brdy in Czechia. The state had planned to revitalise the local river Klabava for years. In the meantime, beavers inhabited the area and took matters into their own paws. By building beaver dams, they managed to retain water and create a natural wetland beneficial for the local environment, saving the state millions of Czech crowns.
 | Eli Volencová Beavers are incredible architects. They build highly developed burrow systems combined with dams made of wood, stones and mud. Their massive teeth can easily cut down even full-grown trees, which they later use for construction. The dams create ponds with higher water to protect the underwater entrances to beavers' burrows, where they hide their young ones. While everyone in Brdy appreciated their building activities, that isn't always the case elsewhere. People used to hunt beavers to prevent them from changing the environment as well as for their fur. Today, beavers are endangered and a protected species all around Europe. However, hunting is permitted in the Baltic states, where the beaver population is larger, attracting people from all over the continent for hunting trips. |
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