Exploring the use of artificial lodges for beaver management
Beaver (photo Yves Adams - Vildaphoto)
Details
Beavers are an enrichment for nature, and their presence can significantly promote local biodiversity. However, they can also cause damage through feeding, the construction of dams or digging. If measures are taken to prevent the digging of burrows in water-retaining dikes, there is a risk that beavers will settle at another location nearby, where damage will occur again. To prevent this, it would be desirable to be able to help predict and direct where beavers will settle in an area. Doing this, the beavers present also help to protect the territory against other beavers. The options for managing this vary from providing suitable zones (e.g. old meanders) over making suitable bank zones attractive to setting up artificial lodges at suitable locations. An extensive literature study and consultation round can accurately map these options. Methods can then be tested in the field, both at neutral and directly at damage-sensitive locations, where the most suitable solution can be sought on an ad hoc basis.| Status | Running |
|---|---|
| Actual start/end date | 01/07/2024 - 31/12/2026 |
Teams
INBO Research theme(s)
- Protected nature
- Water
- Wildlife management
Tags
- management
- fauna