In Zoutleeuw in Limburg Province people are coming outdoors in the evenings to admire a new natural phenomenon: the return of beavers to the waters of the River Gete.
For the first time in many years beavers have returned to the waters of the River Gete. It’s an exceptional sight, but at dusk beavers are showing themselves and local people are coming out to admire them.
Over the past ten years many waterways have been cleaned up and that often heralds the return of the beaver. This is chiefly the case in the Land of the River Dijle further west. In Zoutleeuw this is far rarer.
“The day before yesterday I saw my first beaver and yesterday, I saw one again” says Robert, a Zoutleeuw local. “They are very shy. They run away as soon as they see movement. One of the beavers was sitting on a stone doing its ablutions. The moment a car passed by it disappeared.
News of beaver sightings in Zoutleeuw is bringing people out of their houses. “I’ll be out for a shufty every evening from now on” says Robert “because they are really beautiful. They are pretty large animals. They can grow to 1m10 in length and weigh 30 kilos”.