Is called Speedy the first beaver born in Friuli Venezia Giulia after centuries of absence. It happened in the territory of Tarvisioa Friulian municipality on the border with Slovenia where a couple has returned to reproduce after 5 centuries of absence.
Beavers are semi-aquatic rodents considered to be real environmental engineers thanks to their ability to modify the morphology of the spaces in which they live, through the construction of dams. The history of this species in Italy begins again in 2018 when the first specimen arrived, a male known as Bridge from the name of the researcher Renato Pontarini of the group “Lynx Italy Project”, who has monitored him since the discovery of his presence.
It took 5 years until a second individual managed to overcome the barrier along the river Slizza, going up from Austria to reach the Tarvisio area. At the beginning it was not clear the sex of the animals, but a few weeks of observations dispelled all doubts: the first arrival was a male, and the second, younger and thinner, was a female. Thus began for researchers the hope and cheer for the opening of a new chapter in the history of the beaver in the region.
The beaver’s births take place from the end of April onwards, so the researchers monitored the den thanks to a 24-hour surveillance camera, in order to be able to observe the site without any disturbance to the fauna. One evening, as soon as night fell, Pontarini saw it on the screen the female accompanied by a small one. The amazement and joy of the sighting immediately replaced the wait for the second, third and subsequent cub, in fact births with multiple cubs are not uncommon, but nothing followed, as he explained Paolo Molinaricoordinator of the Lince Italia Project: «Beavers can have up to 4 cubs, but the young female, at her first birth, evidently stopped at one, which is quite normal at the first reproduction».
The puppy immediately appears to be an excellent swimmer_ lively, agile, very quick. The fast movements reminded the researchers of those of its terrestrial rodent “cousin”, the famous Speedy Gonzales from the animal cartoons of the Looney Tunes world. And that’s how the new born was renamed Speedy.
Meanwhile, two other new individuals made their appearance, but they were less lucky than Ponta and his partner. Unfortunately, one did not make it and was hit and killed by a car on the motorway, while the animal was trying to bypass a barrier along the river. The second new appearance followed only a month later, but for now it is not clear where this individual also settled in the Tarvisio area.
The photos and videos in this article are by R. Pontarini – ProgettoLinceItalia
