A large rodent on Offenbacher Ufer is under increased urban surveillance: it could develop into a problem for the local section of the A3 of bicycle traffic. Because trees that he has worked on do not always tilt in the intended direction towards the river, but also threaten the busy route of the Main Cycle Path.
Offenbach – The city service has already had to intervene at Mainuferpark near Arthur-Zitscher-Straße. A poplar was so damaged that it had to be shortened to 1.50 meters. “Beavers usually gnaw on the trunks from the water side so that they fall towards the river or stream and the animals don’t have to pull them so far for their castle,” says Sigrid Aldehoff from the Stadtwerke group of companies. But this tree had grown inclined towards the path. “With further gnawing” it could have been a danger for passers-by.
The fact that the branches are left behind has nothing to do with negligence: rather, they should invite the beaver to nibble off the softer bark. Experience in Bürgel had shown that the animals preferred the fine food of the hard bark on the trunk. Sigrid Aldehoff gives Offenbach the beautiful “beef fillet” – which can prevent Offenbach from getting a problem beaver.
Stand, but also gnawed trees remain under observation at the Mainuferpark. They are not removed as long as they do not impair road safety: beavers also eat their bark. If the trunks were removed, the animal would gnaw the next tree.
The city service’s green management team already gained experience last year with a beaver near the campsite in Bürgel. There the animal had gnawed a large poplar tree. In order to stabilize the tree, branches were removed from the crown and left next to it. The beaver then gnawed off the branches and left the trunk alone, so that the poplar is still standing today. This year there was nothing to be seen of the beaver at this point.
Perhaps he moved further west to the other bank to Fechenheim. There he has already brought down some wild willows in the stone embankment. The public utilities do not know whether it is the same animal. Spokeswoman Aldehoff: “He has not yet tried to build a castle near the castle, apparently he realistically estimates his chances of damming the Main at this point.” But the green management team is also on the lookout for such signs. His colleague who is involved in dike construction at Bieberbach is more successful.
The animal, which is subject to strict species protection, should not simply be driven away anyway, as much as it may disturb on the banks of the Main. “According to the Federal Nature Conservation Act, it is forbidden to catch, injure or kill beavers; their dams or castles must not be taken from nature, damaged or destroyed,” says Christine Schneider, the head of the Lower Nature Conservation Authority at the Environment Agency. She points out that all measures would have to be coordinated; if necessary, the State Environment Agency should be involved as the higher nature conservation authority. An optimal solution is always to be found together for the individual case.
Nature conservation always plays an important role. In many places the beaver is seen as an inexpensive aid to create habitats rich in species. He fell trees, dammed streams and digs watercourses to transport branches for food. Wherever it becomes at home, there is a habitat for insects, amphibians, birds and rare plant species. No problem as long as the beaver does not cause unwelcome flooding or conflict with a busy long-distance cycle path.
The world’s second largest rodent has been back in Offenbach since 2017 at the latest, after it was practically exterminated in the late 19th century. In 1987 the first couples were abandoned in Spessart, Hesse. In Offenbach he has meanwhile worked his way from Rumpenheim and Bürgel am Main to the core city.
By Thomas Kirstein
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