Beavers came back – Is it blessing or curse?
Abstract
The eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) is a native species which almost extincted in the beginning of the 20th century but already recolonised its former distribution. This species turned up in Hungary in the beginning of the 1990s in Szigetköz area after the austrian reintroductions. WWF Hungary released 234 specimens between 1996–2008. The Hungarian population was estimated 500 ind. in 2007, 718–905 ind. in 2011, 2500–3000 ind. in 2015 and min. 4000 ind. in 2016 and 2017. They live everywhere in Hungary but the monitoring is not regular. More and more beavers turn up in human environment but serious conflicts are known only from Fertő-Hanság National Park. It is the second greatest landscape alterating species after humans, their impact can be positive and negative too. The heaviest conflicts are (1) wood laying can cause serious damages; (2) digging can decrease the strength of the dykes; and (3) the beaver dams can cause large areas flooded. There are effective solutions that should be tested in Hungarian environment and a Hungarian beaver managing plan should be developed. A zone system is offered which sould be similar to the Czechish system where Zone „A” is a protected area for beavers. In Zone „C” beavers can be removed immediately. In Zone „B” the beaver protection is subordinated to land use and other interests of people in the landscape where the purpose is to limiting the negative impacts of beavers.
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