Beavers in Klosterheden could end up in wolf pelts.

Adrian Lilholm has had a beaver family of six as permanent guests on his property at Klosterheden in West Jutland.

But five of its members are missing – and he suspects wolves for developing a taste for beaver meat. On wildlife cameras, he can see the large predators sniffing around the places where the beaver family used to eat and spend time on land.

- Previously, there was a lot of activity around the burrow with several beavers. But after wolves first visited the site in the spring, I haven't seen much of the beavers, says Adrian Lilholm.

- Unfortunately, I haven't managed to capture on video wolves eating beavers here, but I can certainly put two and two together, he says.

The theory is confirmed by professor and wolf expert Peter Sunde from Ecoscience at Aarhus University. He does not know, however, if the beaver family in Adrian Lilholm's backyard has become wolf food.

> We have seen in other countries where wolves and beavers live in the same areas, that wolves actively pursue beavers. Beavers are a large food source, as they weigh on average 20 kilos – almost the same as small wild boar.

> Peter Sunde, professor and wolf expert

- We have seen in other countries where wolves and beavers live in the same areas, that wolves actively pursue beavers. Beavers are a large food source, as they weigh on average 20 kilos – almost the same as small wild boar, he says.

Most of us see beavers as distinctly aquatic animals – and that's true, but they have to go out of the water to find food, and wolves have figured that out.

- Wolves are opportunistic feeders, and beavers are relatively easy prey to set their teeth into, if they can surprise them on land and cut them off from returning to the water. If that happens, beavers have a problem, says Peter Sunde.

Adrian Lilholm has filmed several wolves with his wildlife camera:

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'Exciting to follow'

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On the outskirts of Klosterheden, it has become significantly less interesting to follow the beaver's life on the burrow site. Adrian Lilholm does not look the other way every other minute in his garden or lie sleepless at night because of the wolf's presence.

- It's nature's way. It was only a matter of time before beavers got a natural enemy, even if it's a bit disappointing that there's not much to follow here anymore, says Adrian Lilholm.

- The beavers were also spreading well in this area, so I think it's fine that there's a bit of natural regulation, he says.

The last beaver at Adrian Lilholm's address is seeking sympathy from the office at Aarhus University, and there's also bad news there. For it gives more cause for concern in researcher's fingers than sad sighs.

- It's always exciting when we have these experimental changes, says Peter Sunde.

He is waiting to see if the same thing happens in Jutland as it has in North America, where beavers and wolves have lived together for longer than here. For there, beavers have changed their behavior, after they have been driven up to the top of wolves' food demands.

- In North America, beavers cannot move around as freely as before. There may be places they cannot establish themselves, and we can imagine that they do not seek refuge far from the water's edge anymore, says Peter Sunde.

- Beavers react quite strongly to wolf scent, so it's not unlikely that beavers in Klosterheden change their behavior.

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