Prague, Nov 24 (CTK) – Beavers have reappeared in Prague after over 185 years, as confirmed by the recordings from the photo traps planted by scientists from the Czech University of Life Science in Prague, head of the research team, Ales Vorel, has told journalists.
Given the undesirable attention that might disturb the animals, Vorel has declined to publish the beavers’ exact range.
“Obviously, the castle they have built on the Vltava River is inhabited at least by a two-member beaver family. Now we will primarily watch its activity in the locality and movement in the metropolitan environment,” Vorel said.
The Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) has been spreading alongside the main water flows in the Czech Republic since the 1970s.
Scientists say it was only a matter of time of when they would roam in the centre of Prague.
So far, they have settled closest to Prague in Cernosice on the Berounka River and their Western Bohemian population has appeared by the reintroduction of beavers from Bavaria.
The beaver population has been expanding in the past decades. It has reached over 1,000 individuals in the Czech Republic.
As the beavers build dams and fell the trees, they transform the surrounding landscape, which may cause problems.
Roads are being flooded due to the beaver dams and the beaver burrows damage the pond dams, zoologists warn.
pv/dr/hol
