Beavers save the day after officials delay critical construction project for years: 'Absolutely fantastic'
"Nature finds a way" is a phrase frequently used to describe the resilience of the natural world. Apparently, there are also instances in which it can be used to describe the natural world's ability to complete government-sanctioned building projects in record time.
A dam-building project in the Czech Republic has been in the works since 2018 but hasn't gone any further than conceptual discussions. Delays over land negotiations threw a bureaucratic wrench into the gears, according to the Guardian.
The project was intended to protect critically endangered crayfish in the Klabava River by blocking overflow from nearby ponds. Given these intentions, one would hope those dams were built sooner rather than later. If it weren't for the local beaver population, "later" was the only item on the menu.
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Imagine the project planners' surprise when they found those aforementioned beavers had already done their work for them. They even went above and beyond the project's specifications, building four dams (and counting) while also creating a wetland with pools and canals.
"It's full service: beavers are absolutely fantastic and when they are in an area where they can't cause damage, they do a brilliant job," said Bohumil Fišer of the Czech Nature Conservation Agency, according to the Guardian.
Not only did these amazing rodent engineers complete the project for the Czech government, but they did it all for free. That adds up to an estimated $1.2 million in savings for the nation's taxpayers.
This isn't the only instance of beavers doing Mother Nature's work. A Scottish project to reintroduce them into the Knapdale rainforests may have saved the endangered water vole population. Licensed beaver releases in England have also reinvigorated local ecosystems and helped prevent flooding.
These areas flourished with plant and animal life long ago thanks to the wetland environments created by beaver dams but suffered when the creatures were hunted to near extinction. Their unique dam-building trait is an amazing example of the way one single species can serve as a linchpin for entire ecosystems.
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