Beaver eradication in Tierra del Fuego
Encyclopedia
The Chilean and Argentinian
governments have a plan of eradicating the North American beavers in the Tierra del Fuego
area, which is the southernmost tip of South America
. The non-native species was introduced
in 1946 as a potential source of commercial fur trading
, and they became a difficult problem after the trading did not pan out. A June 2011 NPR
report stated that the beavers have caused millions of dollars in damages. According to Nature
, this plan is the largest eradication project ever attempted.
with the beavers.
The North American beavers have no natural enemies in the area. In native places such as Canada, bears and wolves prey on the beavers and keep the population under control. According to a June 2011 NPR
report, 200,000 beavers are living in the area.
The Tierra del Fuego National Park of Argentina
is especially threatened, as the beavers destroy long-protected trees. The animals have expanded beyond Tierra del Fuego itself into the Brunswick Peninsula
of Chile, and the government fears further penetration into continental South America. The beavers already threaten around sixteen million hectares of indigenous forest. Unlike many trees in North America, trees in South America often do not regenerate when coppiced, destroying the forest.
Besides mowing down trees, the beavers create dams
that flood certain patches and thus drown other trees and vegetation. Flooding from beaver dams damages roads and cattle-grazing pastures as well. Ecologist Dr. Christopher Anderson
, professor at the Universidad de Magallanes, has said, "The change in the forested portion of this biome is the largest landscape-level alteration in the Holocene — that is, approximately 10,000 years".
Government of Argentina
The government of Argentina, functioning within the framework of a federal system, is a presidential representative democratic republic. The President of Argentina is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President. Legislative power is vested in both the...
governments have a plan of eradicating the North American beavers in the Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of , and a group of smaller islands including Cape...
area, which is the southernmost tip of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. The non-native species was introduced
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
in 1946 as a potential source of commercial fur trading
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
, and they became a difficult problem after the trading did not pan out. A June 2011 NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
report stated that the beavers have caused millions of dollars in damages. According to Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
, this plan is the largest eradication project ever attempted.
Background and history
In 1946, the Argentinian government imported fifty beavers from Canada. The administration tried and failed to promote commercial fur tradingFur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
with the beavers.
The North American beavers have no natural enemies in the area. In native places such as Canada, bears and wolves prey on the beavers and keep the population under control. According to a June 2011 NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
report, 200,000 beavers are living in the area.
The Tierra del Fuego National Park of Argentina
Tierra del Fuego National Park
Tierra del Fuego National Park is a national park on the Argentine part of the island of Tierra del Fuego, within Tierra del Fuego Province in the ecoregion of Patagonic Forest and Altos Andes, a part of the subantarctic forest...
is especially threatened, as the beavers destroy long-protected trees. The animals have expanded beyond Tierra del Fuego itself into the Brunswick Peninsula
Brunswick Peninsula
Brunswick Peninsula is a large peninsula in Magallanes y la Antártica Region, Patagonia, Chile, at . It is wide at its base in the north, and almost in the south. It measures in length from the base to Cape Froward, the southernmost point of the American mainland. This yields an area of more...
of Chile, and the government fears further penetration into continental South America. The beavers already threaten around sixteen million hectares of indigenous forest. Unlike many trees in North America, trees in South America often do not regenerate when coppiced, destroying the forest.
Besides mowing down trees, the beavers create dams
Beaver dam
Beaver dams are dams built by beavers as protection against predators such as coyotes, wolves, and bears, and to provide easy access to food during winter. Beavers work at night and are prolific builders, carrying mud and stones with their fore-paws and timber between their teeth...
that flood certain patches and thus drown other trees and vegetation. Flooding from beaver dams damages roads and cattle-grazing pastures as well. Ecologist Dr. Christopher Anderson
Christopher B. Anderson
Dr. Christopher B. Anderson is an ecologist working in Chile's Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve. Anderson obtained his B.S. in Biology with Honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1999 and his Ph.D. in Ecology from the Odum School of Ecology - University of Georgia in 2006...
, professor at the Universidad de Magallanes, has said, "The change in the forested portion of this biome is the largest landscape-level alteration in the Holocene — that is, approximately 10,000 years".