Google Earth Community: Beavers, Beavers, Everywhere!

hi jeanthie!
thanks for raising our attention to this animal has been extincted
from my country however just being reintroduced within WWF's LIFE project.

the name of my town ( Hódmezövásárhely ) can be translated as
Beaverfieldmarketplace so here we go:

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Living with the River

Due to the disappearance of wetland habitats and
ruthless hunting, the European beaver (Castor fiber)
was on the brink of extinction by the end of the 19th
century. The last individual in Hungary was shot in
1854. Almost a century and a half later, beavers were
detected in Szigetköz. These were migrants from a population
that had been reintroduced into Austria.
Natural colonisation over large distances is a slow
process. As the beavers could not be expected to
colonise the lower section of the Danube within the
foreseeable future, WWF Hungary began their systematic
reintroduction in 1996.

Beaver reintroduction on the Király Lake,
Fertö-Hanság National Park, 9. November 2000.

The one-time presence of beavers (in Hungarian:
“hód”) along the Tisza and tributaries is commemorated
in the names of towns and villages such as
Hódmezövásárhely, Kishódos and Nagyhódos. Beavers
used to be hunted for their fur and musk throughout the
country. If the gallery forests along the river provide a
suitable habitat for the beaver, it will be an indication of
the diversity of the floodplain and the richness of its
wildlife. In the autumn of 2001, beaver families were
released by WWF Hungary along the Öreg-Túr, a tributary
of the Upper-Tisza. The results of continuous monitoring
indicate that they thrive in their new habitat.

The European Beaver is an integral part
of the diverse floodplain forests.

The beavers that will find their new homes in the
Tisza region will originate from already stable
populations in Austria and Germany. In
the summer months, beavers mostly feed on
herbaceous vegetation, while in winter their
diet is dominated by the bark and buds of
woody species. Beavers are rather clumsy on
land, and they leave the water only for brief
periods to short distances. Contrary to popular
belief, the European beaver seldom
builds a castle, it tends to live in burrows.
As part of the Tisza LIFE Project,
beavers will be reintroduced to the Middle-
Tisza in the autumn of 2002, following a
detailed survey of suitable habitats. The
release will also be preceded by an educational
and outreach campaign aimed at
local land managers and hunters.

The characteristic bites on tree-trunks originating
from the beaver's incisors are indicators of the species'
presence in the region. -photos credit-

credit: Living with the River WWF Hungary, Budapest, 2002
available in pdf format
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hope to introduce some original work on GE soon!
regards,
g

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