Beavers saved the city from floods (5 photos)

The town of Pickering in England often suffered from floods. In during heavy rains it was constantly flooded, however, the program for flood protection proved too expensive. Then appeared alternative idea - beavers!





The English town of Pickering has suffered for many years from floods due to strong water flows from the moorlands. After heavy rains partially flooded the city. The local authorities tried take action, but the Environmental Protection Agency decided not to can afford to implement a multi-million dollar protection program against floods. Then another idea came up as an alternative - bring beavers to the local river Seven to build a dam.



Beavers brought in by Natural England and Management North York Moors National Park. They have been working on the river for three years, and their work has borne fruit. During this time, the beavers built the most large beaver dam in England - and 7 thousand inhabitants of the town of Pickering can sleep peacefully, regardless of whether it rains.

"This dam, made of logs, sticks and a large amount of silt, increased over time and now extends almost 70 meters. Now it is considered the largest beaver dam in England. The construction was amazing to watch. "Engineering development" and the ingenuity of beavers far exceeded what we expected," said environmentalist Kat Bashforth.





Researchers at the University of Exeter explained that a gigantic dam diverts some of the water coming from the moorlands. Several additional smaller dams that beavers built downstream, slow down the progress of water - even if the big dam suddenly breaks, the small ones hold back the water.



In addition to building a dam, beavers are also engaged in transformation of the area. Also, with their appearance, experts tracked, that more other animals appeared in the local forests:

"The beavers even moved the iris bushes from the middle of the pond and "transplanted" them along their dam. Because of this, there also appeared more kingfishers and gray wagtails and otters," says member local council, Joy Andrews.