A protected species, numerous beavers live in the many waterways situated close to our rail lines. Particularly in Bavaria Beavers are spread with their territories across the entire region. In order to protect the rodents' habitats and be good neighbors, DB InfraGO is currently working to establish a dedicated preventive beaver management program in southern Germany.
Preventative measures for protecting habitats
We make sure that these hard-working master builders do not enlarge their dams too far at the expense of our embankments, which would pose a risk to rail traffic. With the help of our beaver manager, an officially certified beaver expert, solutions are devised. For example, a chain of containers was installed next to a beaver dam on the line between Buchloe and Memmingen. Filled with water, the containers ensure that only a small quantity of water can continue flowing and at the same time prevent the beavers from enlarging their dam. This protects the embankment and ensures the safety of rail operations, while sustainably preserving the beaver's habitat.
In order to live even more harmoniously alongside our rodent neighbors, DB InfraGO is undertaking a joint research project with the Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences to investigate what else we can do to protect beavers' habitats along the rail lines for the long term.
A new home of the beaver family
As part of a pilot project, we have built Germany's first man-made beaver lodge at a pond near the Landshut railway line. The lodge consists of concrete pipes and has an underwater entrance and ventilation shaft. The hope is that in future beaver families will move into this new home instead of building their own. In this way we are preventing the animals from loosening the soil near the tracks.
