First beaver warning sign in Lower Saxony: Protection for the furry rodents!

First beaver warning sign in Lower Saxony: Protection for the furry rodents!

On July 1, 2025, an important sign of the return of the beaver was set in Lower Saxony: the first official beaver warning sign was set up. The location is located on the district road between Wilkenburg and Harkenbleck in the Hanover region. Two signs were installed - one at the outskirts of Wilkenburg and another around 300 meters further. This measure was necessary because around ten beavers in this area have come to death tragically in the past two years. Most recently, dead finds were documented in March and May 2025. The newly designed sign is special because the road traffic regulations have not yet known a specific beaver warning sign.

The sign was developed in cooperation between the Hanover region and the Lower Saxony Ministry of Economic Affairs and Transport. Media designers in the region were involved in the design of the signs. The line -up also begins a three -year monitoring, which serves to evaluate the effectiveness of the signs. If their effectiveness prove inadequate, an alternative solution is considered, such as HAZ reports .

challenges from the beaver return

The return of the beaver not only brings positive aspects. The Lower Saxony Farmers' Association is calling for a nationwide beaver management because the new habitats of the beavers bring about challenges for agriculture. In Pattensen, also in the Hanover region, beavers interrupted watercourses and flooded arable land. Farmer Hans-Heinrich Schnehage reports on flooded fields that he can no longer manage, but has no fundamental conflict with the animals, as these tear no sheep. A solution for the flooded fields has already been found: Schnehage received a exchange area from the region.

The Lower Saxony Land people demands a comprehensive concept that also includes regulations on compensation payments. The NABU Lower Saxony, on the other hand, emphasizes the positive ecological effects of the beaver, such as creating diverse habitats. Environment Minister Christian Meyer plans to develop a concept for dealing with the beaver in the second half of 2025, which should respond to existing problems and conflicts. Beaver experts are to become active nationwide. Meyer emphasizes the advantages of the beaver return for ecological water development and water retention.

Current status of the beaver population

A "round table beaver" has already been set up to develop solutions and measures. The NABU advocates preventive approaches instead of removal of damage and, among other things, calls for the creation of bank strips and water development corridors. In the Meanwhile, beaver in the Oldenburg region endanger the dikes, especially for floods.

The Lower Saxony Ministry of the Environment estimates the beaver population at 500 to 1,000 animals. In the last nationwide beaver count in 2019, 229 areas and around 430 to 500 individual animals were found. A new count is planned for the end of 2025. Beaver are considered strictly protected in Lower Saxony and must not be hunted. The way that was considered out for almost 200 years in Lower Saxony reappeared in the Hanover region in 2005 and has been spreading quickly in southern Lower Saxony since then.

like ndr, the authorities are required, the positive ecological effects of To manage beavers in harmony with the interests of agriculture. Therefore, it remains to be seen how the situation around the beaver in Lower Saxony will be developed in the coming years.