My translation of a local article V Praze se rozrůstá populace bobrů, je jich asi stovka - Ekolist.cz The population of the European beaver is growing within the City of Prague. According to scientists, about a hundred individuals in 17 territories now live in the capital. The first occurrence of a beaver after 185 years of absence was confirmed here only in year 2015. Despite the population growth, however, beavers mainly only migrate along river Vltava through Prague, said a spokeswoman for the Czech University of Life Sciences (ČZU) in Prague, Karla Mráčková. Genetical analysis of samples taken from captured beavers confirmed that they are mostly animals from western Bohemia. The beavers, originally reintroduced in Bavaria, arrived in Prague from the west along the Berounka River. The research was carried out by the team of Aleš Vorl from the Faculty of Environment of the ČZU, who has been dealing with the Prague beaver population for a long time. "At the same time, we managed to find out that the beavers have only partially re-established themselves in Prague, passing through Prague and spreading further down the Vltava river towards the confluence of the Vltava and the Elbe (Labe) river near town Mělník," said Vorel. "On the Elbe, beavers from western Bohemia mix with Elbe beavers (subspecies albus), which originate from Saxony-Anhalt, and thus hybridisation of these two historically very distant and different populations occurs," the researcher added. According to scientists, the capital does not seem to offer ideal conditions for the development of a wider settlement of beavers. All most suitable habitats are already occupied. In the future, it can be assumed that the Vltava in Prague will remain only a transit corridor for beavers. However, further spread to areas around the metropolitan area is more than likely, according to the ČZU. Although the beaver enriched the Prague fauna, its return also has its downsides - the risk is mainly the damage to trees. According to the ČZU, however, the beavers in Prague did not cause much damage so far, although the situation may change with a growing population. "So far, there have been more cases of beaver themselves being endangered by technical infrastructure, when the Rescue Station of the Capital City of Prague saved beavers from a sump, a reservoir or a canal three times. However, trees with bite marks in Prague's Stromovka (large urban park south of the zoo) are now registered," said Mráčková. According to her, the research team from the ČZU is cooperating with the municipality on preventive measures.
