Employees at Uppsala Cathedral spotted a beaver that appeared lost while work was being done on the plot outside the building, according to Henrik Viberg, a communicator at the Church of Sweden. Viberg said that while work was being done on the plot outside the Cathedral, employees saw a furry little friend that looked a bit lost. The beaver had likely wandered up from the Fyris River and was shut in a moving box before being released into the river, officials reported. It remains unclear what specific work was being done that led to the discovery or why the beaver ventured from the water in the first place.
After consulting with police and the county administrative board, a rescue operation began using a moving box and a blanket, officials said. Viberg explained that they herded the beaver into the box and made sure it was comfortable. The journey then proceeded from the Cathedral, over St. Olof's Bridge, to Gotlandsparken where the beaver was released into the wild, according to officials. The exact time of release has not been confirmed, and details on how the animal was herded into the box are unknown.
What the hell is coming there, I thought. It was not what you expected to see, I have only seen beavers in the water before.
According to Uppsala Nya Tidning, witness Niklas Fahlström described seeing the beaver while loading sandboxes into his truck just before 8 o'clock, though he initially did not expect to encounter such an animal on land. Viberg noted that beavers moving outside the river is not unusual, but this one may have been surprised by the morning light and gotten stuck. He added that it seems to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. The beaver looked tired and confused and lay down, according to Fahlström's account in Uppsala Nya Tidning. There are no reports on ongoing health monitoring for the beaver after the incident.