So last night our intrepid beavers were rooting around for something interesting to eat that wasn’t on the menu (“Aw, dad! Willow again??) For some reason they were fascinated by the far bank at the corner between the sheetpile and the dam. One, two, even three kits at a time nosing their way in the corner. One kit thought he would try harder and better than the others and started to climb the very steep bank near the sheetpile wall. S/he got nearly three feet out of the water before he lost his balance and tumbled head first into the creek bumping up against the sheetpile on the way down. In doing so all the fur on his back got rubbed the wrong way so when we saw him again he looked like this:
Once reassured that he wasn’t a bit hurt in his acrobatics, many laughs were had by all humans present, There may even have been a beaver snicker or two from his siblings. The new ‘do’ lasted a good 20 minutes because apparently beavers don’t fix their hair for self-conscious reasons. Last night all three kits and GQ came from upstream. Apparently the more things change the more they stay the same.
I spent the weekend (no, really!) working on this tribute to the patriarch of our Martinez Beavers. He’s the kind of worker who finishes what he starts and takes on more than his fair share. I have never seen Dad waste effort or do anything that didn’t make solid sense. The night after Skip took the dam down by three feet he and mom were a flurry of work rushing to save it. Dad was using his massive strength to rip tules out of the ground to staunch the flow. I wasn’t there that night but I’ve heard people were watching in awe at his tireless effort. He never minds a childish helper or two, although I have seen him quietly perfect their contribution after they leave the area. I was so happy to see him with a kit this week I knew he needed his own compilation and recognition.
In simple terms, carrying capacity is the number of individual species an environment can support without significant negative impacts to other living things and/or the environment. When it happens, and we as people get to make the judgments, Todd types suggest “decreases” to put everything back in balance.
Is there even a Bambi myth? Gosh, I can’t really think of one. Man is bad?
I suppose Gene is implying that the sweet beautiful drawings of the cartoon character ignore the fact that deer chew our plants and disturb our traffic patterns by getting hit by cars and maybe even start fires like bambi’s dad. Or something. He invokes the sportsman-repellent properties of Walden Pond to appeal to the reader’s logic. I suppose what he means to say is that if you have compassion for animals you aren’t rational, and nobody should listen to you anyway.
He goes on to say that ‘science’ supports a habit-forming dependence on trappers like the hero described in his article, Todd Meese. Todd is given the impressive qualifications of a ‘damage wildlife biologist’ which sounds as close to a toolbox full of hammers as we are likely to find. (I guess that explains why beavers all look like nails.)
A day or two after the visit, I got a report that two beavers, one 65 pounds and the other 45, had been removed.
Just to be clear, by “removed” he means “killed” – don’t want to be too ‘Bambi’ about this. Looking at the weights I would say he trapped an adult and a yearling. It’s late summer so the colony probably has kits, which he obviously didn’t get. Let’s hope there are some family members left to take care of the young so he can come back next summer and do all it again – and the summer after that, and so on – all those child support checks won’t write themselves.
And quite candidly, a big reason the furbearers have gotten a disproportionate foothold on our turf over the last decade is because trapping has gone out of favor. Less social acceptance, less money in the business. Of course, as population density increases, birth rate will decrease eventually because the death rate will typically increase because of either disease or lack of habitat/food. Or beavers will move into our backyards through the waste water systems.
Through our wastewater systems? You mean like those pale alligators in the New York Sewer System? Ohh, you mean culverts and drains, all the little waterways that we have co-opted with concrete to become our storm systems. It’s funny how that works, we turn these natural structures into the most unnatural devices and are furious when nature keeps being – well – natural. Like the beavers in Alhambra Creek. Did you ever hear about them? It’s a great story I’ll tell you sometime.
Ok Gene, here’s some science from the Bambi faction. Beavers are a keystone species so every single colony in that housing tract on 291 increases the bird, fish, and wildlife population of the area. Beavers improve water quality, raise the water table and increase valuable wetlands. Don’t you have some sportsmen in Missouri? Beaver ponds increase important game species like wood duck and trout. In fact there isn’t a single thing you could add to your waterways that would do more to help increase the carrying capacity of the area.
It’s possible you’re not as interested in science when it disconfirms your beliefs. Okay, let’s talk dollars then. There are proven effective and inexpensive tools for managing beavers that offer long-term solutions and will save tax-payer dollars. Beaver Deceivers and Flow Devices will control most any waterway problems and allow the habitat to remain. Wire wrapping or sand-painting of trees will protect property and everyone can benefit from the safe wetlands that beavers create.
If Missouri’s biggest problem really IS the beaver, its because the entire state is using the wrong tools. Instead of encouraging more people to use more hammers, it might be a good idea to introduce a few wrenches and some pliers.
Beavers: Written By Deborah Hodge Illustrated by Pat Stephens
For the last week the arrival of beavers seems to be from downstream rather than upstream. We are used to seeing the kits come out from the upstream lodge and make their way to explore their world and the dam. We even saw a kit lay mud on the primary dam for the very first time this week. Lately though they are reminding us of something Skip Lisle always says “The principal of beaver life is dynamism”.
Beaver change things. Including their habits!
I’ve been frantically looking up references for lodge transitions and see that it is common especially over the summer months for families to go between lodges. Giving a lodge a break can be a good way to lower parasite populations and be close to a different food source. My human sensitivities are irrationally concerned that the family transition TOGETHER as a unit and nobody gets left behind – but they all seem to be keeping track of each other. Dad and the kits showed their most serious engagement ever this week and GQ is in full view with kits seeming to follow him wherever he goes. All the kits still are happy to see eachother and no sibling is ‘less liked’ as far as I can tell.
What will happen? Will the beaver family settle downstream or is this a summer fling similar to the ‘frat house‘ the yearlings experimented with years ago? Are dad and the yearling maintaining separate estates to increase their chances of each attracting a mate? Could the city of Martinez get another famous beaver colony? If so what happens to these kits? Will they become ‘joint custody kits’ shuttled back and forth between lodges? If the family stays together downstream will they still maintain the primary dam or will it become less important real estate? Will Skip’s installation become unnecessary? Or will we end up hiring him again to build three more?
The possibilities are apparently endless. Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter of…”As the colony turns….”
Don’t worry. Baby beavers weren’t on the menu. But carp, minnows, perch and crayfish beware! There’s an otter in town. Two at least, because Moses filmed a huge one just a few days ago and now look!
This was a little fella, long and sleek and fast. Cheryl and Jon dashed about looking for the right place to photograph as he selected the choices spots to fish. He didn’t use the gap to cross the dam (otters hate to be predictable). He crossed on the bank farthest from the street.
Our beaver pond is a haven for fish eaters. The irresistible temptation to fish that captures the fancys of teens who should know better, is even more powerful for Otters. They have nothing but success in those crowded waters, making it worth risking some human contact. He even followed a few fast fish into the round-fence filter for the flow device! I sent this picture to Skip who was very excited about the prospect of being able to demonstrate that 6×6 wire allows wildlife access to the area! He thought the filter needed a loving touch up though, and asked if he should come out before the next storm?
After the otter cleared away, the main feature came out to play. GQ came upstream with three kits in tow looking lovely. All in all it was a pretty exciting evening. What are you doing this weekend?
