A German couple narrowly escaped death when a large tree came crashing down on their yacht, state maritime police said on Monday.

A beaver felled a tree when the couple was traveling through the Müritz-Elbe waterway in the eastern German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

The beaver had managed to bite its way through a 20-meter-high (65.6-feet-high) poplar tree. The felled tree caused thousands of euros in damage to the yacht.

The beaver managed to nibble its way through the poplar

"They were very lucky," said a police spokeswoman. "Luckily the yacht was made of metal, so it was able to continue on its journey."

The couple happened to be below deck at the time of the incident.

Read more: Beavers on the rampage

Return of the beaver

Wildlife authorities have hailed the return of the beaver after surviving the brink of extinction in Europe.

"The Eurasian beaver, once widely distributed across Europe, was reduced to 1,200 individuals by the beginning of the 20th century due to over-exploitation for fur, meat and castoreum, as well as habitat loss," according to a Zoological Society of London study.

Beavers: Lords of the rivers Timber! A beaver will only fell a tree for a particular reason - be it a larger mature tree to form a dam, or a young tree for food. They are herbivores and eat mainly leaves, bark and twigs, as well as aquatic plants. A single beaver needs just five minutes to fell an 8-foot (2.4-meter) tree.

Beavers: Lords of the rivers Ready for the elements Beavers have their own kind of swimming goggles, in the form of a set of transparent eyelids that enable them to see underwater. There are two species of beaver: the European beaver and the North American beaver. Although they look and behave similarly, they are not genetically compatible.

Beavers: Lords of the rivers Formidable swimmers Beavers use their broad tails like rudders to steer underwater, and can swim at speeds of up to 5 miles per hour (8 kilometers per hour). They also use their tails to slap the water as a warning of danger, or as a warning signal to alert others to keep away. Beavers can remain underwater for 15 minutes without surfacing.

Beavers: Lords of the rivers Home sweet home Beaver homes are called lodges, and are built in the form of domes made of branches and mud. They are located in open water for protection from predators, and have underwater entrance holes. Beavers are active throughout winter and use their ponds even when they are covered with ice.

Beavers: Lords of the rivers Good houseguests Beaver lodges usually contain two dens, one for drying off after entering the lodge underwater, along with a second, dryer den where the family will live and socialize. There are usually between two and 12 beavers in a colony, and three baby beavers, or kits, born per litter to a beaver couple each year.

Beavers: Lords of the rivers Stemming the flow Beavers create their dams - large log, branch, and mud structures - to block streams, turning fields and forests into the large ponds they love. Beaver dams can be vast - the largest is in Wood Buffalo National Park, Alberta, Canada - it stretches for 850 meters, and is visible from space.

Beavers: Lords of the rivers Regulating ecosystems It is this ability to transform the landscape that causes particularly farmers to consider them as pests: beaver dams can cause floods and block irrigation. They also fell trees that humans might want to leave standing. But beavers play an important role in ecosystems, helping to regulate water flows and humidifying the land. Author: Ruby Russell, Melanie Hall



The Elbe River in Germany was one of five areas across Europe where the Eurasian beaver managed to survive. Legal protections and conservation programs have helped rehabilitate beaver populations across the continent.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature currently places the once-endangered beaver population in Europe at more than 330,000.

Read more: Why urban wildlife is thriving in Berlin

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ls/aw (dpa, AFP)