A beaver sits along the Riga canal. City officials say they do not want to harm the animals, only to protect the park flora. Photo by Kalev Kavad.

RIGA — Riga city officials are offering a cash reward for someone to come up with a solution to rid the canal of beavers, who are gnawing down trees and shrubbery in the adjacent park.

While the beavers are less noxious than an infestation by Nosferatu’s plague rats, the Riga municipality said the damage they’re wreaking on the city’s premiere green space as well as the added clean-up costs to the cash-strapped city budget cannot be tolerated further. However, the city does not want to harm the beavers.

“We are waiting for effective solutions to protect trees and bushes, but which at the same time would show a humane attitude toward the beavers,” Riga alderman and housing and environment committee chairman Vyacheslav Stepaņenko said in a statement to the press last week.

The prize for the best idea is 300 lats (€424), while the second is 200 lats and third is 100 lats. The winner will be determined by the city parks department. Entries must be sent in by Sept. 6.

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