The beaver has arrived in Sihlwald

The beaver disappeared from Switzerland 200 years ago due to intensive hunting. Thanks to successful reintroduction projects between 1956 and 1977, the population of these rodents has developed well again. Today, almost 5,000 animals live in Switzerland. The beavers living in the canton of Zurich are mainly the result of releases in the Aargau moated castle, the Nussbaumersee lakes in Thurgau and the Thurspitz in Zurich. Beavers have been reintroduced to the Limmat for some time. Now this population has slowly spread along the Sihl from Zurich main station, where the Limmat and Sihl rivers meet. The beaver has recently been observed in Sihlwald - a welcome addition to the biodiversity of the Zurich Wilderness Park!

A landscape gardener with four paws

The beaver is a pure vegetarian. Its diet includes around 300 herbaceous or woody plants. They like to eat meadowsweet, white honey clover, dock knotweed, dandelion and nettles. Europe's largest rodent cuts down trees, builds castles and dams and dams streams. This is how the beaver shapes the landscape and creates valuable habitats for other species. "We are delighted that the beaver wants to settle in Sihlwald again," explains Karin Hindenlang Clerc, Managing Director of the Zurich Wilderness Park Foundation. This animal species is an important part of the local ecosystem. Hindenlang: "We are curious to see how it will cope with the Sihl and its strongly fluctuating water volumes."
Beavers usually like to live in slow-flowing and stagnant waters with trees and shrubs close to the banks. Whether the beaver will also use the steep streams in the Sihl Valley as a habitat in future remains to be seen. One thing is certain: as long as the beaver does not endanger any infrastructure or footpaths and cycle paths, it is allowed to roam freely in the Sihlwald. As the holder of the Nature Discovery Park label, Sihlwald is one of the twenty parks of national importance. Nature is allowed to develop freely here.

Further information:

Mirella Wepf, Project Manager Communications,
Phone 044 722 55 22, mirella.wepf@wildnispark.ch

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Captions:

• Snapshot from the wildlife camera in Sihlwald: The beaver has arrived in the Zurich Wilderness Park!
  (Image: Zurich Wilderness Park Foundation/Stefan Eichholzer)
• Beaver tracks in the snow in Sihlwald.
  (Image: Zurich Wilderness Park Foundation/Mirella Wepf)
• Beavers cut down trees to eat buds and build dams. Here on the Sihl
  (Image: Zurich Wilderness Park Foundation/Mirella Wepf)