The beaver is protected in the Netherlands and may therefore not be killed or chased away. This makes it difficult for the water board to prevent the risk of excavation damage in dikes. “Normally, the beaver is not a problem at all, as long as it stays in the floodplains. But at high tide, it looks ‘higher up’, more towards the dike”, the flood defense manager outlines an extra challenge for the water board to keep taking into account the Beaver. “The focus we have on the animals becomes even sharper at high tide. We analyze their behavior and monitor where they are. In this way we try to find a good balance between beavers and water safety.”
