When a long-planned infrastructure project in the Czech Republic hit a snag, beavers took the reins.
Beavers have no regard for human laws, so even if they’d known that the construction of a dam in the nation’s Brdy region had stalled due to permitting complications, they wouldn’t have cared.
According to Radio Prague International, environmentalists had planned a dam in an area where, years ago, the military had built a drainage system. The new dam was intended to stop the drainage and create a wetland to revitalize the local ecosystem.
The project had been in the planning stages for seven years, and was slated to cost the equivalent of $1.2 million, according to National Geographic. But as officials hashed out the details of securing the necessary permits, a local beaver colony took matters into its own paws, building a natural dam in the perfect location to create a thriving wetland for free.
“Beavers always know best,” Jaroslav Obermajer of the Czech Nature and Landscape Protection Agency told RPI. “The places where they build dams are always chosen just right — better than when we design it on paper.”
The Czech broadcasting station characterized the beaver dam as being built “practically overnight.” But Gerhard Schwab, a beaver expert in Bavaria, told National Geographic it probably wasn’t literally overnight. He believes it’s more likely that the dam took a few weeks, but people didn’t notice until it was done.
Humans across the world are increasingly embracing the benefits of beaver structural engineering. In 2023, California introduced a policy aimed at restoring the animals in areas where their presence ― and the dams they build― can create a healthy ecosystem for other animals, replenish groundwater and even provide wildfire protection.