About two weeks ago, while hiking through the H枚llental Valley (Lower Austria) along the Schwarza River, we were surprised to stumble upon an area showing clear signs of recent beaver activity. We had never encountered anything like this in the region before.The damage appeared incredibly fresh - some trees seemed to have been gnawed just hours or perhaps a day earlier. There were even bright red blood stains on the exposed wood, suggesting possible injury to the beavers during their work. Several trees had already been felled, while others were barely standing, supported by only a few centimeters of remaining wood. This unexpected sighting of active beavers, complete with those eerie blood marks, left us amazed at the raw intensity of their efforts in this stunning valley.
