BEAVERCON GOOD NEWS

heidi08 Beavers November 6, 2024

We all need this right now…

JUST BE THANKFUL IT WASN’T A BEAVER

heidi08 Beavers November 5, 2024

The election that we thought would never get here happens today and every single person I know is exhausted by it. I suppose we should not be surprised that it has shaken weird stories out of the woodwork, but honestly when I saw this I was just glad it wasn’t a beaver.

Here’s Why Trump’s Campaign Is Posting About a Dead Squirrel

Peanut the Squirrel was a mainstay on social media — and his euthanization sparked a backlash

It’s tough to think that a squirrel might tilt the presidential election, but it’s 2024, so here we are.

It all started last week, when an Instagram-famous rodent named Peanut was taken from a house near Elmira, New York, along with a raccoon named Fred. Peanut had lived with Mark Longo and his wife, Daniela, for the past seven years; Fred had lived there for about five months. Rescuing Peanut from near-death and bonding with him had inspired the couple to start a nonprofit animal sanctuary — P’Nut Freedom Farm — and Fred had been left at their doorstep.

I’m sure you can see where this is going. P’nut freedom farm seems kind of like the thing you see. I guess keeping the animals in your house after you rehabbed them might be a problem in some circles.

But then, on Oct. 30, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) raided their home, and after a five-hour search, the two animals were confiscated. According to a statement given to WENY, a local TV station, by the DEC and the county health department, Peanut had bitten one of the investigators, and both animals had to be euthanized in order to test for rabies.

In a more reasonable timeline, the animals’ caretakers and fans would mourn them, and perhaps it would spark internet discourse on the ethics of keeping wild animals indoors, effectively as pets. (All the other animals in their care live outside.) But like a 2024 Murphy’s law, if something ends up trending, it must become political.

Ouch, Of course the only way you can test a creature for rabies is to take slices of its brain and no animal seems to live through that. It is true that sometimes when someone is bitten they just treat the human in case, but that’s when the animal gets away. And P’nut clearly did not.

So dead squirrel.

Do you think DEC might have been a little heavy handed here? Do you think they saw the videos on you tube and thought I just have to free that squirrel! Do you think they might have called first and said “you have to keep that squirrel outside or we’re coming to take him”? Well maybe they did the story doesn’t say.

But do you think they at least could have looked at the calendar and thought, hmm…maybe not a week before the election. Let’s just wait a bit on that.

I”m sure the thought is that outrage over p’nut could kind of have the similar effect of the Kristi Noem gravel pit story with her puppy. I’ll let you know how that works out for them.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

heidi08 Beaver Chewing, Beavers, beavers and community November 4, 2024

There’s an article this morning from Winnipeg about those darn pesky beavers chewing up all the city parks. You and I both know the solution, and I wrote this morning to tell them about the knew tree manual from Project Beaver.

Problem beavers ‘mowing down’ trees in Winnipeg parks

A Winnipeg city councillor says a number of local parks are being beset by buck-toothed rodents, and a solution needs to be found.

Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West) said she’s seen destruction caused by beavers first-hand, and that the city’s naturalist services branch is working on solutions to humanely dissuade the tree-chomping animals from causing problems near local rivers.

“I understand that their teeth keep growing unless they chew. They have to keep chewing,” Lukes said.

“So they’re continually mowing down these trees. Spring, summer, winter, fall. And it’s disheartening…. It’s kind of it’s a battle.”

Mowing down? Constant? You mean more often than you wish? Think about it from a beavers point of view. That’s their food, their work supplies and their shelter. How often do you require those items? Constantly?

So far, Lukes said she’s seen damage along the riverbank at Maple Grove Park and has heard additional reports from park areas all over the city — along the Seine, La Salle, Assiniboine and Red Rivers.

Trapping and relocating the beavers isn’t an option, as it can endanger them, she said, so the next best solution is to protect the trees by wrapping them in what she describes as a “mesh type of” stucco wire.

That sounded promising. So I sent off the new resource right away. I’ll let you know if anything happens.

IN LOVING BEAVER MEMORY

heidi08 Beavers November 3, 2024

Last Sunday Cheryl’s mom and our long time beaver supporter Jeanette Reynolds passed away at the fine age of 92. She kindly asked that donations to Worth A Dam be made in her name and c0ntributions have been fluttering in ever since.

Jeanette was a cheerful, unflappable woman who had raised a daughter who kept a tarantula as a pet and a son who ended up photographing elephants so I doubt that she was surprised when the subject of the day became beavers. In her kindly, practical she helped cut out tails and ears for art projects, or worked the silent auction and always made herself at home.

Our hearts go out to Cheryl and her family and we wish Jeanette a hearty thank you for the many lives, both human and not-so-human, she touched in her 92 years.

Here she is helping out at the beaver festival in 20011.

BEAVERS HAVE LONG MEMORIES

heidi08 Beavers November 2, 2024

I’m excited to share this video of the performance at OAEC of Robin Eschner’s song “Memory of Water”. This was performed last month to a very appreciative beaver believing crowd. Enjoy.

Memory of Water by Robin Eschner

Sung by The Acorn MusEcology Project, as one of 12 songs in the BEAVERS Program, directed by Sarah Dupre.
Occidental Center for the Arts, Occidental, CA.
October 6, 2024 ~ Yolande Adams on piano