Over the Dam

heidi08 Uncategorized June 30, 2010

Tonight one of our kits made their first terrifying foray over the primary dam. Look at this little one make his own way back! Whew!

Some compassionate downtown workers who have had a ringside seat for this entire ‘epic tail’ have expressed their affection for our missing matriarch. They asked for no credit but have left hearts onsite if you wish to add your sentiments. Also check out the support from our neighbor at the mayor of claycord.

After a week of change and trauma, the beaver family seems to be getting back into a routine. All three kits were seen again last night, as well as Dad and Yearling. There was swimming, feeding and push-matches to pursue, the last is an excellent sign that our young beavers are no longer worried about who’s taking care of them or where their next meal is coming from and are finally able to address the more important questions: which kit is stronger.

Photo: Cheryl Reynolds

Human lives are getting a little more normal also, as beaver supporters settle into the routines of this “new family” and begin to relax that it can survive on its own. The beavers were the topic of conversation far and wee yesterday, in law firms in the city and weirdly enough on the Orange County Craig’s list forum. (?) The very best has to be the touching headline released by KTVU, reading:

UPDATE: Father Of Martinez Beavers Returns, Feeding Kits

Gosh don’t you wish that there were updates like that on every beaver colony around the nation? Maybe a “beaver beat” for reporters? At its basic level the beaver story is essentially the story of a family, so I guess the headline is the same as something like “Father feared to be dead in plane crash returns home for dinner”. The moral of the story: children will be cared for and life will go on.

I heard from Leonard and Lois this morning from SURCP. They were extending their condolences at mom’s death and reassuring us that the kits would manage with the two year old. They offered this startling proof,

So sorry to hear about mother beaver, the kits should be old enough to
feed and it’s amazing how the two year olds can take over parenting.
We had a pair of beavers eaten by a mountain lion yet the one year old and
the kit have survived on their own.
Once again our condolences.

Mountain lions eating mom and dad! (shudder) I guess it could be much much worse, but that’s probably always true so we shouldn’t be surprised. In the mean time we’ll be out again tonight, watching our newly stabilized family show off their three youngest beaver exhibits. If you can get away, you should come too.

Adaption

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beaver News, Friends of Martinez Beavers June 29, 2010

Last night we saw two beautiful things that lightened our hearts a great deal: Dad and 3. We wondered where Dad has been and wondered if Sarah’s comments about grieving at the loss of the mate were accurate. How could it be true? Weren’t we just talking about rodents? Would they really notice if a mate had died? But we didn’t see dad for three days after mom’s death. And when he appeared yesterday he looked a little looser in the skin, a little older. We know exactly how he feels. He went straight for a nice cottonwood branch and snagged it to bring into the lodge, where he stayed while the bi-yearling went for his alone time. We were so relieved to have him back and playing for the home team.

Later we saw the three kits together for the first time since Father’s day. There had been a very narrow otter event last week, meriting tail slaps from two adult beavers and some chasing. We feared the worst but were doing our bests to stay positive and remember that just because you ‘have’ three doesn’t mean you see them all at the same time. This is horrible footage and very blurry but you can see we definitely have our ‘tripod’ of beaver kits. We were very happy to see the family of five last night.

We had nice articles in the CCTimes and the Gazette, as well as reports on KCRA, channel 11 and channel 7 via Bay City News. There has been a fairly steady stream of condolences from people moved by her death, and a host of visitor’s down at the dam. One of our most touching responses was the donation of five dollars from a child’s allowance in the South Bay. We are working to incorporate a memorial to mom into the tshirt design for this year and talking with the metal worker who did the lovely beaver at the library about adding a memorial to the sheetpile wall. I am grateful that we have come this far, and that the family seems to be in good shape, but every part of me is exhausted by feeling and it has been a rough week. Let’s hope the next ones are lighter and brighter.

Dad Beaver Seen

heidi08 Uncategorized June 29, 2010

For the first time since Mom’s death Saturday, father beaver was seen. I guess Sarah was right about grieving for a few days because we have been looking for him. Today he was seen mudding the downside of the dam, and then choosing a huge branch to bring into the lodge for the kits. We also saw the yearling tonight and all three kits having a ‘push match’ in the water. Now our bi-yearling has all the help he needs!

Am I my beaver’s keeper?

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Environmental, kits June 29, 2010

Photo: Cheryl Reynolds

Taken before mom’s death, but during her illness, this photo shows our two larger kits exploring the dam and foraging for food. It is an adorable glimpse of their “buddy system” as they venture farther a field (and closer to Cheryl’s camera) than they have ever gone. Since mom’s death and their “adoption” by the bi-yearling, they are much more cautious because they have the luxury of caution. They’re also waking up later which means their tummies are fuller and they are probably being fed in the lodge. We saw the first kit at 6 on Saturday night, but not until 8 on Sunday.

These two seem to come in tandem and are nearly the same size. A smaller kit usually comes on its own and is much less skilled at swimming and breaking off branches, let alone diving. That’s the one that rode on mom’s back on the June 13th movie. The bi-yearling was present last night, bringing branches in the lodge before going for his “alone time” over the dam. Jon followed him to see what he was doing but he slipped off into the scrape near the secondary dam. It is likely that he is marking the territory to keep other beavers away and checking for trouble. He’s not gone long enough to be feeding and there’s plenty to eat closer to home in the annex.

Dad hasn’t been seen the last few nights, and I got an email from Sarah Summerville of the Unexpected Wildlife Refuge that might explain that.

In Dorothy Richards’ (and our Hope Sawyer Buyukmihci’s) book Beaversprite, she documented seeing “grief” in her beavers at the loss of a mate or kitten. It sounds like the kittens are reverting to younger behavior, and the yearling is probably like a new mother, too overwhelmed and busy to grieve. How is dad doing? Is he business as usual, or is he absent? She documented the grieving parents staying in the lodge and not eating for several days.

I can’t imagine beaver couples are passionate about their mates, but they are certainly used to them and spend hours side by side in the lodge or working on the dam and that loss could certainly be felt. We’ll keep watch and see what’s up with dad. At the moment I’d like another adult in the pond to keep an eye on the kits when the bi-yearling goes foraging. We are reluctant to leave until he comes back after his little “alone time”, but we can’t be beaver-sitters forever.

I draw the line at working on the dam. They’re just going to have to do that themselves.