Beaver settlements triple in 15 years in Switzerland

After almost becoming extinct in Switzerland, beavers are now heavily protected. Keystone / A4514/_thomas Warnack

A total of 1,382 colonies were recorded across the country in 2022, almost three times as many as in the last national “census” in 2008.

The number of colonies has been increasing by 8.2% per year, and the population size by 8.3%, according to a statement on Tuesday by neighbouring Liechtenstein’s Environment Office.

Swiss beavers are densest in the lower Thur Valley in Thurgau (northern Switzerland) and along the Aare and its tributaries between Thun and the capital Bern.

Europe’s highest-dwelling beaver meanwhile lives in Samedan in canton Graubünden, in the southeast of the country.

+ More background on Swiss biodiversity protection efforts

Including the 20 colonies in Liechtenstein, the total number of animals comes to just under 5,000 across the two countries, the environment office said.

The census was carried out by 400 cartographers and gamekeepers who combed through 7,000 kilometres of water bodies in winter 2022.

Beavers are a protected species in Switzerland. After being hunted almost to extinction by the late 19th century, resettlement efforts began in the mid-20th century, and in recent years numbers have rapidly increased.

Conservationists say the animal benefits the country’s biodiversity, which is under pressure. Many farmers are less happy about the occasional flooding that follows the damming of small streams.