Beavers in the Linth region: First pair spotted

For the first time, a pair of beavers has been observed in the St. Gallen Linth region, the state chancellery announced on Tuesday.

Offspring are likely. Whether the young pair will establish their own family will become clear in spring or summer.

Wildlife warden Benedikt Jöhl has seen the beaver pair himself. However, the Office for Nature, Hunting and Fisheries is not disclosing the exact location of the animals in order to protect them, as Jöhl told the news agency SDA on request. The beavers are currently in their mating season. Offspring could arrive around June.

According to Jöhl, beavers have up to four young once a year. The animals spend their first weeks of life well hidden in their burrow. Beavers are protected in Switzerland.

First sighting in 2000

The first beaver appeared in the canton of St. Gallen in 2000. Since then, the population has been growing steadily. At the last count in the winter of 2010/2011, 81 beavers were counted living in 26 territories. By now, there are likely well over 100.

The greatest number of beavers have so far been observed along the Thur river in the Toggenburg region. But the rodent is also at home along the Rhine. With its appearance on the Linth, the beaver is now colonising the last major river system in the canton, as stated in the communiqué.

«True landscape architects»

For wildlife warden Benedikt Jöhl, it is a positive development that beavers are making themselves at home in eastern Switzerland once again. Occasionally there are minor conflicts of interest with agriculture — for example when beavers dam streams, changing the landscape. Such conflicts should be taken seriously and addressed openly.

Coexistence between beavers and agriculture is generally very possible. Beavers are «true landscape architects». The nocturnal animals are capable of felling trees with a trunk diameter of up to 50 centimetres and using them for their constructions. The hunting-free canton of Geneva also shows that humans and beavers can coexist perfectly well without hobby hunters.