Beavers in the Czech Republic ignored construction permits and completed a stalled dam project, much to the delight of officials.

What happens when an infrastructure project is stalled for more than seven years? In most countries, the project may have been shelved but the beavers in the Brdy region of the Czech Republic had different ideas -- one which has helped the authorities save over Rs 10 crore in expense.

Beavers have saved Czech taxpayers a cool $1 million by flooding a protected former army training site where a long-stalled dam was planned, a conservation official said on Tuesday. Fiser said the estimated savings to the Czech purse reached some 30 million Czech koruna ($1.

The beavers chose to build their dam in a drainage canal created by the military on a former training ground in the Brdy region. This area had been causing headaches for local environmentalists due to its artificial drainage system,

Despite a seven-year planning process and successfully securing the funding, the Czech Republic’s plans to build a new dam in the Brdy region came to a standstill as authorities struggled to acquire building permits. However, it was the arrival of eight hard-working beavers that finally got the job done.

A beaver colony gained overnight fame by building several dams in the Brdy protected landscape area, creating a natural wetland exactly where it was needed.