Biber – “Species protection for zero tariff”

Mr. Preuschhof, how did your interest in beavers come about?

I worked for a long time in the nature conservation authority of the Göttingen district. I had a lot to do with animal species that are understood in decline – there are fewer and fewer species in the agricultural landscape. Beaver and otters are species that have almost extended in Germany and that are now coming back. Watching this and how quickly this return takes place is very exciting.

How long were the beavers disappeared?

In today’s Germany, beavers were at home for about 15 million years, in the past more than 100,000 animals lived here. In Lower Saxony, for example, there was the last Bibern detection in the early 19th century. However, they were never completely gone. In Saxony-Anhalt, on the Middle Elbe, around 200 animals survived. The beaver has also been back in Lower Saxony since 1989/90. As certain species have been increasing again since the turn.

Why were the beavers gone? Were you hunted?

Yes, they were hunted intensively. For one thing, that was the responsibility of the church. She said in the Middle Ages that beavers were also fish, and that’s why they can be eaten during Lent. They don’t taste bad either, as I heard from Canada. But they were also hunted because of their furs. Beavers have the densest fur among the mammals that exist in this country. They have 100 times as much hair in the fur per square centimeter skin as the human head, i.e. an extremely dense fur. That was very popular. Likewise, the Bibergeil fragrance secretion, which has long been considered a miracle cure in medicine and perfumery. And the beaver was persecuted because it was wasted by the dam construction and caused damage.

Now he’s back. How many beavers live in Germany?

There are 25 to 30 areas in the Göttingen district. Between 500 and 1000 beavers live all over Lower Saxony. In Germany there are around 40,000 animals.

How do you find out about new areas?

I was often called by people during my work in the authority. Biber tracks are fairly easy to recognize when it comes to eating traces of trees. And then I looked at and document it on site. Sometimes the police also called when a dead beaver was found on the roadside. I have already found a dead beaver myself. In some cases, I also go off the streams myself. The time from January to March is the best season because the trees are not botched and the feeding traces can be seen better. And then it is easier to find the construction. In midsummer, on the other hand, there is little chance of discovering a beaver building.

And how do you get a beaver?

Beavers are active at night and twilight. In winter it is almost impossible to see them in daylight. The nights are shorter in summer, because the beavers are not enough for the activity time at night. You can observe a beaver at dusk in body care.

How are beaver new areas open up? Is it like with the wolves, where the boys are sent away by the pack after a year or two and get said: Now go out and look for something for yourself?

Biber, like wolves, are very strictly related to their territory, so they occupy areas that they also defend against neighbors. In beaver fights, the animals can sometimes seriously injure or die. The young beavers usually stay in the parent area until they are two years old, then they have to go and look for new areas. Most of the time they move upstream. The first beavers in the district of Göttingen came from the direction of Hanover in the leash, they also hiked upstream at the time.

How big is a beaver family?

Only one animal lives in some areas. For example, a young male has arrived somewhere that it likes there, and then it is waiting for a partner. There can be four to eight animals for a family with young people – provided everyone survives. But only about half of the beavers survive their first birthday. I was able to demonstrate seven beavers in a area in the district of Göttingen.

When the first beavers returned 30 years ago, the enthusiasm was great. “Oh how cute, oh how beautiful,” it said everywhere. In the meantime, the first grumbling is mainly heard on the part of the farmers. They claim that beavers would put surfaces under water and flip around trees and these would fall into the corn or rapeseed fields. Is there something on?

Beaver do this, they have often fallen trees. Although this is usually not the problem for farmers, they are more likely to be happy if they have more light on the field. Farmers are more disturbing that areas are put under water through the dam building. However, this is often exaggerated here because social media is rumored by what beavers can do elsewhere. In Bavaria, for example, where 20 times as many beavers live, the damage is much higher than in Lower Saxony. The local farmers and think that also hears that happens here, and in two years their country will be under water. But that is currently not foreseeable here. The only case in the district of Göttingen was once a meadow that was under water for two months on an area of ​​a fifth. Then the dam was broken and the congestion was gone again. It would be important to me if people stay in the region in the discussion in the region.

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And what arguments does nature conservation have for the beaver?

The beaver itself is an enrichment for species protection. You can also ensure more biodiversity by the senses of surfaces and build-up of water because there are further plant, fish, amphibian and insect species. If you want to call it that, they do practically species protection at zero tariff.

They also offer guided tours of beaver areas. Isn’t there a risk that the animals will be scared and pull away by the presence of too many people?

No, I don’t think so. If there is a group of ten people during the day, the beavers don’t bother. Auto noise doesn’t bother either. There are even beaver areas in large cities such as Berlin or Zurich. Only if there was a party at night where the beaver has its construction, then he wouldn’t find it so great.