BEAVERS BEGIN CONSTRUCTION OF DAM IN RUSSIA (PHOTO)

In defiance of local planning laws - and in spite of the scale of the task confronting
them - a rogue band of beavers has intervened to rescue the inhabitants of a remote
Russian village.
For at least a decade residents of the aptly-named Bobrovka (which translates as
"village of the beavers") had petitioned the local administration to build them a new
dam, after the previous, ageing Soviet construction was washed away.
With no dam they were left with no reservoir, which meant nowhere for firefighters to
draw water in an emergency and difficult watering crops in times of drought.
Living about 20 miles (about 30 km) from the nearest town in the Ural mountains in
Siberia, villagers said they were left feeling isolated and vulnerable.
But when the local authorities failed to act, resident rodents took matters into their
own paws.
Working mainly at night under cover of
darkness, and using materials apparently
borrowed from their local habitat, a
determined family of beavers set about
the construction.
A local tracker, Alexander Grigoryev,
praised the quality of their work.
"If people don't break this dam, it's
going to be here forever. It's very solid,
it can't be ruined by a storm or spring
flooding."
The beavers, he added, would bring
other benefits too.
"Where beavers live, all other wild
animals settle, fish comes, ducks nest.
Beavers feed on wood, they are very
useful animals."
But officials warned the new dam did not meet building regulations and could be
subject to demolition.
Speaking on behalf of the local administration, Sergey Brezhnev said: "If we build our
dam and demolish this one, it doesn’t mean that the beavers will die.
"The river is quite big and they have plenty of space to build a new dam somewhere
else."
None of the beavers were available to comment.