Beaver tracks in Tölz: Expert sees dam as natural flood protection - removal only in exceptional cases

Created: 04/02/2022, 18:00

Beavers were at work here: These tracks were last seen on the Linsesägbach stream between the bus station and the sports field in Bad Tölz.

© Arndt Pröhl

The beaver has left its mark in Tölz.

But not everyone enjoys their work.

Bad Tölz – Anyone who has been on the way to the sports field on the Isarkai in Bad Tölz in the past few weeks could see the work of a master builder of nature with their own eyes.

The beaver has left its typical traces there on the Linsensägbach - not to the delight of all Tölz residents.

Friedl Krönauer, district chairman of the Bund Naturschutz, explains why the beaver builds its dam and uses it to dam up streams.

Animals and plants benefit from the beaver's burrow

The beaver builds the structure consisting of numerous branches primarily "to protect against predators," explains Krönauer.

To prevent them from entering the castle, the entrance is under water.

But other animal and plant species also benefited from the construction.

"Where the beaver builds its dikes, a trickle becomes a new habitat for fish, insects and birds," emphasizes Krönauer.

In doing so, he makes a non-negligible contribution to biodiversity.

According to the district chairman, the dam also serves as a natural flood protection.

It holds back the water and slows the flow of water.

"If you let the beaver do it, you could achieve a lot in terms of flood protection," says Krönauer.

You can find even more current news from the region around at Merkur.de/Bad Tölz.

Beavers feed on tree bark in winter

The beaver not only tampers with the trees to get building material for his castle.

Especially in winter, the bark serves as a food source for rodents, explains Krönauer.

In summer, on the other hand, it feeds mainly on shoots, buds and grasses.

The rodent was almost extinct for a long time

The beaver was almost extinct for a long time because humans hunted it.

The expert reports that resettlement only began in the 1970s.

Since then, the population has slowly recovered and has reached "relatively stable levels".

Overproduction is currently not a problem, he clarifies.

"For the Loisach, I can say that most of the territories there are occupied and that turf wars regularly take place there," says Krönauer.

Federal nature conservation expert does not want to downplay problems caused by beavers

"My wish is that people are a little more forgiving and tolerant towards the beaver," he says.

Because the animal represents an enrichment when it returns to the district.

However, he does not want to downplay the problems that beavers sometimes cause.

"There are simply places where the beaver is not allowed to go." In order to keep the rodents away from such areas in the long term, simply removing the animals is not enough.

"As soon as an area is unoccupied, a new beaver settles in immediately," explains Krönauer.

On the other hand, it makes more sense to “design the position in such a way that it is no longer attractive to rodents”.

Prevention takes precedence over removal

In general, prevention has priority over removal, as the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district office announced on request.

This is the very last resort - and only if the conservation status of the population does not deteriorate.

Since the beaver is a protected species, it may only be removed - i.e. killed - in exceptional cases.

For example, if agricultural and forestry use is affected by flooding.

In addition to averting economic damage, other reasons are the protection of construction and transport infrastructure and the preservation of native flora and fauna.

In the case of these conflicting goals, it is important to look for pragmatic solutions for people and beavers.

So-called beaver managers can help here.

That advises the lower nature conservation authority to keep the beaver away

In principle, however, nature benefits in many ways from the activities of the “master builder of nature”.

If you don't want the beaver to leave its tracks on your own trees, the lower nature conservation authority advises you to do the following: Wrap the lower part of the trunk with wire mesh so that the beaver no longer has a target.

How many beavers now live in dens on the Isar can only be roughly estimated based on the beaver activities in the area.

As a rule, a maximum of two adult animals and two generations of young animals live together in a family group.

That makes between six and eight animals.

By Franziska Selter

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