The Biber family feels at home in Zurich –

"I was standing with my camera on the bank of the Limmat, and there was really a beaver mother with her two cubs," says Martin Zahnd, whose nature photography dates from 1945-19003 . Zurich immediately pushed back and captured the moment. "Every night, interested people come to see if they see young beavers," he says. The two boys are beavers who live on the right side of the Limmat between Hardeggsteg and Europabrücke. Zahnd: "The best time to see the whole beaver family is in the evening at dusk, sometimes early in the morning."

Urs Wegmann, head of the Biberfachstelle, canton of Zurich, is not surprised. Because with him, over the past few days, various people have reported talking about the young beaver. "In the region of Werdinsel / Europabrücke live two beavers who obviously have offspring," says Wegmann, who has not yet seen the kittens.

Since beavers are similar in January and February and boys are born after about three and a half months, according to Wegmann, there is a good chance that there are actually beavers in the city. The beaver area in Höngg is the only one in the city and occupied at least since 2016. Other urban areas are located on the Glatt in Wangen-Brüttisellen and on the Limmat in Dietikon.

Keeping a distance with the beaver

According to the expert, an old beaver lives with his cubs in a beaver. "Young beavers are refractory at birth, but their mothers quickly push them into the water so that they can get used to the wet element as soon as possible." After about two years, they learn from their parents what is survival in nature, the offspring is sexually mature and is expelled from the area. Then, the boys found their own territory. It could be close to the parents. Crucial is the food supply. In winter, they feed on trees and shrubs; in summer, they mainly eat reeds, grasses and leaves, but also sugar beets and corn.

Beavers also form their areas adjacent to highways or popular recreation areas

Anyone who wants to observe the beaver family on the Limmat should be careful, Urs Wegmann advises. "A distance of 10 to 20 meters to a beaver is recommended." If you have a dog with you, you should take it on a leash. Although rodents invite you to pet with their warm appearance, Wegmann advises against. The beaver is a wild animal that weighs 25 kilograms in his adult state and who knows how to defend himself when he is cornered.

The shy rodent has been completely eradicated in Switzerland. In order to resettle it, until the late 1970s 141 animals were abandoned, including some in the canton of Zurich. "Currently, the stock has recovered well and has grown to 2800 animals all over Switzerland," says Wegmann. In the canton of Zurich live 394 beavers in about 106 districts according to current figures . The stock is increasing by about 8% per year.