The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) is baffled with the number of beavers that are in London. “There population just keeps on growing…and they don’t have any natural predators,” says land management technician with UTRCA Cole Volkaert.
The animal’s population has grown exponentially over the last four or five years, and the UTRCA says they cause major flooding. “When they create their dams, they’re creating them in storm ponds and drains running through the city, they’ll back that water up, and a lot of that water is right behind people’s backyards, which causes a flooding issue,” says Volkaert.
So, what is the solution? Volkaert says they use beaver deceivers. These deceivers are over a metre in diameter with a 25-30 cm corrugated tube attached to it. “We put the tube under the water, punch a hole into the beaver dam, and run the tube all the way out to the flooded area,” says Volkaert.
Volkaert says the cage is used as an inlet, where the water will go in, get picked up by the tube that’s in the middle of the cage, run under the water, and breakthrough the dam. “The beaver will recreate his dam over that corrugated tube…it will think the dam is working fine, but there’s actually water running through, which helps regulate the water,” says Volkaert.
Beavers chew down trees to make their dams and lodge. The UTRCA has started to wrap trees with wire cages. “Mostly trees that are significant, like maples and oaks,” says Volkaert, but keep others that can grow quicker, and are easier to chew. “They can take down a massive tree overnight, and it’s actually impressive what they can do,” says Volkaert.
For more information check out the UTRCA video.
