We were back in Tirol at Easter and went out for a quick cycle ride as you do, just Schwaz and back, so only about 40 Km with ~300 m of climbing. When we were last visiting for Christmas and New Year, we took a shopping trip to Innsbruck by bike and on the way spotted signs of beaver activity by the Inn. So, we were curious to know if we would find more signs that there were beavers (Castor fiber) on this trip too. Our route took us away from the river and the motorway alongside it, on to quiet roads through the fields, but sure enough, we still found signs of beavers. Along a small wooded burn, which is little more than a drainage ditch for the fields, we came across a number of beaver felled trees and eventually also a couple of dams.
Photo copyright Ulli Harding 2023
Photo copyright Ulli Harding 2023
It is probably that the beavers that built this dam, have a den under the bank and have rased the water level to hide the entrance, although there was no obvious lodge (or Biberburg in German) nearby. Given that beaver territories are only about 1 to 3 Km along a shoreline, it is highly unlikely these are the same beavers the ones we saw evidence in January. This suggests that there is a growing population of beavers in the upper Inn valley.
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