Beavers were wiped out in Ohio in the 19th century due to the fur trade that drove demands for the animal's pelts. It was not until the 1930s when these nocturnal, semi-aquatic rodents reappeared in the state.
By 2012, the population of the animals had significantly grown, with state wildlife officials estimating their number to be about 35,000. Now, the animals are already giving officials a headache.
In a suburb of Cincinnati, a beaver is causing gnawing problems. The troublesome animal, which has made Pine Hill Lakes Park its home, has been gnawing at 52 trees in the area and felling three others.
Officials said that the animal is somehow helping because part of its smorgasbord were dead trees that the city wants removed. However, the feasting of the furry animal also creates sharp pointed ends in some trees, which could pose potentially serious danger.
Richard Fair, director of Mason Service, said that the animal's activity has health and safety risks. For one, the gnawed trees could fall on parkgoers who pass by.
"We were concerned, too, if he dams up the end of the lake where the inlet is, we don't know what kind of damage that would do if it backed up with water," Fair said.
The beaver is now costing taxpayers' money as the city is spending $2,000 on a licensed trapper to catch the animal. Officials wanted to use a humane trap and plan to move the beaver to another city property. Unfortunately, the animal has not taken the bait.
Wildlife management supervisor Brett Beatty from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said that city officials may have no other choice because Ohio's law requires trapped nuisance beavers, as well as raccoons, coyotes, foxes ,skunks and opossum, to be destroyed.
Beatty also pointed out that even when these troublesome animals are moved somewhere else, there is a strong likelihood that they could still be a nuisance even on another property.
Second Chance Wildlife Rescue president Mary Carrelli said that killing the furry pest is not a quick fix because more could come in its place. She suggested that a better and more humane solution to the problem would be to drive out the troublesome animal using alternative methods such as fencing off or wrapping the trees with plastic tubing.
Fair, however, said that such methods would involve a lot of time and effort for a wooded area like Pine Hills Lake Park.
