Saving beavers and pond turtles | DW Documentary

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The European pond turtle is to be reintroduced to the Upper Rhine. Biologists Kathrin Theissinger and Jean-Yves Georges have been fighting for this. Their goal is to reintroduce the species and restore its natural habitats.

Wetlands are among the most diverse and most endangered ecosystems on earth. They store large amounts of carbon and therefore play an important role in adapting to climate change. They also mitigate flooding.
However, they are not very suitable for agriculture and a reputation for musty odors and mosquitoes means that wetlands have something of an image problem. Yet these areas are a biotope for many endangered species.
Kathrin Theissinger and Jean-Yves Georges are campaigning for the reintroduction of the European pond turtle. They are convinced that this species, which is important for ecological balance, is a popular figure and can act as an "ambassador for wetlands”.
The natural creator of wetlands, the beaver, also has an image problem. It was extinct in Europe until the last century. One of the first regions in which it was reintroduced was Bavaria. Since then, beavers have proliferated here - and continue to cause trouble. When wildlife biologist Gerhard Schwab returned from his studies in the USA in the 1980s, he was commissioned by the government to take care of ‘problem’ beavers.
He always tries to find pragmatic solutions. He prefers to release captured beavers into the wild in other countries, such as England. But it isn’t always possible to get rid of the animals this way.
Many projects are committed to rewilding. But are they sustainable? The need for beaver management shows: Species conservation is a task for society as a whole and needs to be tackled with long-term vision.

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