And they’re beavers. 14 Eurasian beavers arrived in Ulaanbaatar from Bavaria, Germany this week.Known as ecosystem engineers, the hard-working beavers build dams that have positive effects on the ecology.
Get it? German engineers arriving – and they’re beavers! HA HA! That’s right. Some countries go thousands of miles to import beavers and some countries [namely ours] just kill them wherever they turn up. Looks like Ulaanbaatar (in Mongolia between Russia and china) got 7 pairs of beavers delivered to help their Tuul river. While the beavers have had an unhappy day (or more) in a box and face an uncertain future, they are at the moment prompting lots of media to write that BEAVERS HELP RIVERS over and over again, which makes a nice change. Oh and did you notice that those are wooden boxes? You do know that beavers CHEW through wood right?
With the purpose of raising water levels, 14 beavers were brought to Ulaanbaatar on Monday at 7am.Beavers improve and take care of their habitats, by building dams that raises the water level, and consequently dampen the soil, which in turn makes it more fertile and lively. Germany’s Bavaria province has given the beavers free of charge, because they will be used to restore the environment. The beavers flew for 8 hours from Germany to Mongolia.
Free of charge! (As in ‘take my beavers, please!) Honestly there is such fanfare being raised for these beavers that you’d think they were ecosystem engineers! Oh, that’s right, they ARE!
Further information was given by the Head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
-Beavers are undomesticated animals, how will the long flight affect the beavers? Has a beaver ever been transported by plane?
Okay, funny historical story. beavers relocated by plane in America in 1940’s and also in wooden boxes. the boxes were intended to be ‘thrown’ onto the water below, thinking they’d float long enough for the beavers to chew their way through. Tiny glitch. The beavers didn’t wait until they were thrown to chew through the boxes and scared the snot outta the pilot when they started crawling loose around the plane!
-Since they are wild animals, they would have obviously been shocked. The Bavaria province has exported many beavers to other countries, but they only used air travel when they transporter beavers to Scotland.
-The Beaver Centre will open in May, where will they reside until then?
-They will be staying in the Khuushiin am until the Tuul River Khar Usan Tokhoi centre is ready in May.
-When will they be released into the wild?
-First we will breed them using the Russian method. If we release them straight away they will not yield any results. Taking care of the beavers will require a long time, effort and funding, that’s why they will be released into the wild in several stages. This might even start a year from now. We will have to see the results of the breeding and release them a few at a time.
The Russian method? The RUSSIAN METHOD? Is that like the missionary position? What on earth is the Russian method for breeding beavers? Plentiful Vodka, long lines and random food shortages?
-What will happen after they are successfully introduced to the wild?
-If they raise the water level, we will take measures to sustain it.
This page must be translated, because I’m incapable of reading this dialogue without hearing a very thick Stalinist accent in my mind.
-How will you be feeding them? What do they eat?
-They usually eat plants, we have already prepared the food they will eat. Biologists say that they can eat most vegetables, fruits and plants. Mature beavers are between 74-80cm, weigh from 16-20kg and they are the biggest rodents. They live in colonies, which is why they were sent in pairs from Germany. All examinations and documents necessary for their transport were taken care of on the German end, but because of unresolved issues on the part of the Mongolian team, the beavers were held at the airport for a day, and were nearly sent back. Though they are gifts from Germany, it is also right that their entree be congruent with Mongolia’s laws and customs.
”They will be given a year’s time to adapt to the new climate, and their offspring will be relocated to the main stream of the Tuul and Terel rivers. This is a long term project, so we will not see an immediate rise in the water levels of the rivers. There are also beavers coming from Siberia. Since they are used to living in cold climates, they will be placed at the Tuul River right away. Their habitats will be given special protection against such animals as dogs; we even anticipate that people will have to be restricted in their given areas.”
Well, good luck with that. As grim as I feel these beavers chances are, it can’t be any worse than the fate of most beavers in America. We wish you every success.
“thus we pray that the beaver solution will yield results.”
Amen.
