A Russian road in the Urals collapsed because dam-building beavers blocked a pipe running under the road. The pressure of water trying to get through the blocked pipe created a 13 foot pit in the middle of the busy road.
Biologist Pavel Kosintsev blames young beavers and the decline of beaver hunting:
Young individuals build dams and settle in new places. There’s only one way to protect communications from these animals – put iron bars over the pipes.
Beaver pelts used to be very sought after, and the animals were regularly hunted.A few years ago there was a sharp drop in the price of beaver pelts and the hunter’s interest in the animals stopped.
BBC / Top image: Still from the NTV footage
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-27602456
