Rapid expansion of Eurasian beavers in Hungary: thirty-year history of the species’ return

Abstract

The Eurasian beaver is an ecosystem engineer species capable of altering the riparian vegetation and the hydrology of freshwater habitats. The study of its distribution process is therefore important for both nature conservation and conflict management. Thanks to protection efforts and natural expansion, the beaver has already inhabited most of its former range, starting from the brink of extinction. The changes in the Eurasian distribution and population size have been continuously documented in the scientific literature. In these studies, however, Hungary, as a country with an important position along the beavers’ colonisation routes provided by the Danube drainage basin, has hitherto been underrepresented due to a severe lack of data. In this paper, we summarise all the available information about the thirty-year history, colonisation process, current distribution, as well as the management of the Hungarian population. Based on the newest available data, the beaver is present along all of the large rivers and along most permanent watercourses in the country. Despite the continuing growth trend of the population, a beaver management strategy has not yet been developed. Its establishment could be significantly supported by further monitoring surveys and scientific studies focusing on the region- and site-specific ecological effects of the species.