Rosenheim district seeks removal of beaver after swimmer is bitten

BR reported that a man was injured by a beaver while swimming in Waldsee, a bathing lake in the municipality of Schechen in the Rosenheim district. It was the first known incident of its kind in the district.

The man was bitten at about 7 a.m. on Monday and later treated at Rosenheim Hospital. A municipal representative and a beaver adviser have since examined the location. The adviser suspects the animal was defending its lodge or offspring.

Schechen has put up signs asking swimmers to keep their distance from the beaver lodge and the animals. The municipality has also applied to have the beaver removed, saying warning signs alone might not prevent similar incidents.

The Rosenheim district authority is reviewing the application. Because Waldsee lies in a specially protected nature conservation area, the higher nature conservation authority at the Government of Upper Bavaria will also be involved.

The lake is part of the Innauen und Leitenwälder Fauna-Flora-Habitat area, which belongs to the Europe-wide Natura 2000 network. The protected area is considered an important migration corridor for animal and plant species between the Alps and the Danube.

People are rarely injured by beavers in Bavaria. In July 2024, a beaver inflicted a 10-centimetre bite wound on a woman’s thigh while she was bathing in the Würm in Munich. In 2015, a walker suffered a deep wound to the calf after being attacked by a beaver on the Würm in Starnberg.