Bavaria lets beaver remain after swimmer’s bite attack
Thursday 10th September 2026 on 19:01 in
Bavaria
BR24 reports that a beaver which bit a swimmer at a forest lake in the Rosenheim district in August can remain there. The Rosenheim district office said there was no evidence that the animal was unusually aggressive.
The district’s lower nature conservation authority investigated the incident and decided that removing the beaver is not currently justified. The swimmer was injured and received medical treatment, but the incident was the first known case of a beaver biting a person in the Rosenheim district.
Beavers have lived at the forest lake in the municipality of Schechen for several years, despite the lake being heavily used by swimmers. There had been no previous incidents.
The authority said there was no indication that an aggressive or otherwise abnormal beaver was living at the lake. Removing the entire beaver family could also mean that the territory would quickly be occupied again because many beavers live in the surrounding area.
The swimmer said he had behaved calmly and had not swum too close to the beaver lodge. However, the authority said dogs may have been at or in the lake beforehand and could have irritated the beaver.
The authority has proposed that the municipality put up warning signs at the car park drawing attention to the beavers and highlighting the ban on dogs during the bathing season. The municipality installed initial signs shortly after the bite in mid-August. Another proposal is to mark off the part of the lake containing the beaver lodge with buoys.
The Rosenheim district office said nature conservation and swimming have been compatible at the lake for years and should remain so. The higher nature conservation authority at the Government of Upper Bavaria was also involved in the review.
The natural lake lies within the Innauen und Leitenwälder Fauna-Flora-Habitat area, which belongs to the European Natura 2000 network. The protected area is considered an important corridor for animal and plant species between the Alps and the Danube. According to the district office, the lake is also particularly popular with early-morning and late-evening swimmers.