KNOWLEDGE BASE

In Mongolia in 2015, extreme frosts caused beavers to become trapped in their lodge, preventing access to food. Local people released five trapped beavers, and all had freshly-gnawed tails. Without large terrestrial predators in the area, it's likely that the beavers gnawed their own tails. This text reported on this case and discussed the possible reasoning for it, suggesting it was likely a response to extreme stress.

North American beavers have severely impacted Patagonian ecosystems since their arrival in 1946. Eradicating them is now a priority, but predicting where they'll be is challenging. For recently-colonised sites, the 'bendiness' of the river is a good predictor of beavers' presence. This enables the use of satellite imagery for predicting the presence of beavers, which is useful for the remote areas of Patagonia.

This article reviewed the history of contributions made by Russia's Voronezhsky Nature Reserve to beaver research, conservation, and management. Summarising activities from the 1930s to the 1980s, the Reserve's contributions included beaver protection programmes, breeding and reintroduction programmes, public engagement, and studies on beaver disease and ecology. The article includes a phenomenal collection of photos of this activity, from as early as the 1930s.

This article reviewed the research on the engineering of beaver dams for both living species of beaver. It found that beaver dams reach lengths of 850 m and heights of up to 5.3 m. Beavers sometimes use rocks up to 30 cm in diameter as well as wood. The dams have a big impact on water flow, sediment processing, and flooding. The author suggested that beaver construction methods could inspire nature-based solutions for river restoration and flood control.

Eurasian beavers were reintroduced to Romania around the turn of the millenium, with almost 200 individuals released over a 5-year period. Since then, beavers have successfully expanded their population to an estimated 2000 individuals in 2016. This study compared beaver-modified and beaver-free wetland areas near the Barsa River, Romania. The results showed how beavers - through flooding and deforestation - had transformed the types of habitat and vegetation in the area, initiating a new phase of ecological succession from forested wetland to shrub wetland.