The Successful Reintroduction of the Extinct Eurasian Beaver in Serbia
By the early 20th century, the world population of the Eurasian beaver (
Castor fiber) was estimated to have plummeted to only
1,200. In the times prior to that, this animal had been widespread across both Europe and Asia, as its name indicates. The major reason for the population decrease was human overhunting, which alone caused a total extinction of this species in many ecosystems. Nevertheless, thanks to reintroduction and protection programmes that have been organised throughout the European continent since the second half of the 20th century, the population of beavers has slowly recovered. One such successful story took place in Serbia, a country in the south-eastern part of Europe.
The Eurasian beaver (along its North American relative, the Canadian beaver) is the
largest rodent in the northern hemisphere. The body of this species reaches the length of 90 centimetres, while its strong, scaled tail approximately adds another 35 centimetres. The tail is arguably the most important body part of beavers, as it helps them complete various actions in water such as rivers, lakes, and ditches where they spend the largest amount of time. As a matter of fact, these animals can rarely be found
farther than 50-100 metres away from a body of water they occupy. Beavers use their tails as a paddle while swimming, but also to produce a warning alarm (by slapping the water surface) for an immediate danger, usually imposed by its natural predators including wolves, lynxes, bears and cougars. In such situations, this species protects themselves by diving in the ‘beaver’s lake’, where they can spend
up to 15 minutes. To create this lake – which is their home – the beavers build dams of tree trunks and branches.
The Successful Reintroduction of the Extinct Eurasian Beaver in Serbia | Earth.Org - Past | Present | Future
