Approaches to deal with the coypu (Myocastor coypus) in urban areas - an example of practice in southern Brandenburg, Germany

During the last 10 years the coypu population (Myocastor coypus) in the city of Cottbus caused increasing problems by gnawing on plants, destroying river banks, attacking pets and even pedestrians. The legal situation in the federal state of Brandenburg, the competence of different authorities as well as public opinion made it difficult to find a simple solution. To protect river banks in the city and the waterways of park Branitz, a UNESCO landscape park, the institutions involved and an external consultant bureau developed a specific package of measures. Prohibition of feeding coypu in the city area led to a rapid disintegration of the coypu colonies and stopped the stream bank destruction. Eradication of the park population was successful but a few individuals immigrated within one year, as not all the identified dispersal routes could be closed.