Don’t ever Heave a Beaver by the Tail!

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beaver Rehabilitation, Beavers elsewhere, Educational April 25, 2011

I woke up this morning thinking of a nonsense rhyme I learned when I was a child and wondering why it had never occurred to me to adapt it before now.

If you watched the generally remarkable Oregon Field Guide you probably remember the clip of the uncomfortable-looking biologist holding the squirming beaver kit by its tail as he releases it all-to-willingly into the water. Expert beaver relocator Sherri Tippie had an unsurprising reaction to that image, and wrote:

Heidi, You’ve probably seen this – but I was freaked out, you should NEVER carry a beaver by the tail like this guy did! You can break their tail!!! Otherwise the video is wonderful!! I yelled when I saw that! It’s really easy to break their tails, especially the young ones. He was afraid of the baby. . . I bet that’s why he grabbed him like that. I do like that idea of sticking posts in the water. I would like to try that. Love, Sherri

Hmmm. Powerful advice from a passionate expert. It forced me to try some Monday morning poetry. The amusing column on the left was written by Jack Pretlusky, the first ever children’s poet laureate and generally remarkable writer. The column on the right is my homage. What ever you might think of my attempt, in the unlikely event that the opportunity should present itself, don’t neglect the advice!

Why did the Beaver Cross the Road?

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Earth Day, Educational April 24, 2011

Happy Easter! Happy Earth Day! Happy Beavers! Mandy Hotchkiss of Vermont knew just how to celebrate. She grabbed some friends and went out to the low lying stretch of Lake Champlain to remind drivers that they weren’t the only thing on the road at that time of year. You have to watch the video. There’s a short and unavoidable ad, but trust me its WORTH it!

Mandy’s friend is right, Mascots get a lot of attention. This story got a two page spread in the Burlington Free Press and made the local evening news of at least two channels. Mind you, our good friend Skip Lisle who invented the beaver deceiver and installed our flow device at the primary dam lives in Vermont, so beavers should have a head start with support in the state.

So on Friday morning there was Hotchkiss, owner of the Blue Paddle Bistro in South Hero, holding a sign reading “Caution, Beavers Crossing” Her business partner, Phoebe Bright, was decked out in a beaver costume and waved with a sign that read “Honk 4 Beaver!” Many motorists obliged.

Chris Bernier, a specialist with the state Fish and Wildlife Department said the animals are particularly active this time of year. “There’s a lot of busy parents running around collecting food for their young in the springtime,” Bernier said.

Hmm. Not quite, Chris. The animals getting hit are nearly-two year adults heading off to seek their fortunes and find their own territories. Well Chris doesn’t seem to understand about dispersers, but his boss John Gobielle at Fish and Wildlife (in the video) definitely does. (Chris is listed as a “wildlife technician” and Gobielle as a “wildlife biologist”. Which is surprisingly reassuring.) Not sure why they used two spokes persons to give two different explanations to the media for why the beavers were crossing the street, or one didn’t listen to the other, but the technician is way off. Our beavers on the west coast don’t even have any young yet to feed, so I’m pretty sure Vermont won’t see kits until June or later.

Regardless, Mandy you did an excellent job raising awareness and catching the public attention. Come to think of it, what are you doing in August? If you ever plan a trip to California, Worth A Dam has a job for you! Thank you for the feel-good story for Earth day. I’m always happy to hear about acts of heroism that involve beavers!

P1050815 — Sierra Wildlife Coalition Heroes: Sherry & Mary

A shout out also to our beaver friends in Tahoe who maintained the first ever beaver booth at the Earth Day celebration there. We brainstormed about adapting the tail idea for the event. Looks like they did outstandingly well!

Beaver Wetland Soundscapes

heidi08 Earth Day, Educational, Environmental April 23, 2011

Yesterday we happened to listen to Ira Flatow’s Earth Day broadcast about the emerging science of Soundscape Ecology. (Click on the image to listen for yourself, and know more on Saturday than you knew on Friday.) This field uses recordings of the blend of audio from both living and nonliving agents to analyze the overall health of the landscape. You shouldn’t be at all surprised to learn that rich, complex habitats that support biodiversity contain a biodiversity of sounds as well. On the other hand, very exploited regions that sustain few species contain little diversity of sound.

So far so good. It got me thinking of the soundscape of our beaver pond and the diversity of life it supports. What sounds contribute to the overall chorus? The most obvious sound being the tail slap, the rattle of the kingfisher, the croak of frogs. The snort of otter and the splash of fish leaping comes to mind. But other less obvious sounds would come into the picture as well, the chirp of barn swallows, the scrape of pond turtles, the faint chewing of muskrat, the whisper of wings as cormeronts take off and the skidding of feet as ducks land. In the summer you might hear the mumbled greeting of kits as they ask adults for attention or enjoy their bit of branch so much they implore others not to share.

That’s half the beaver world. What about the other half? What about UNDER the water? Is the hydroponic soundscape of a beaver pond different than the same recording of standing water? You bet it is, and who is doing that research? What does a tail slap even sound like under water? How far does the sound travel and can beavers hear the warning even when they’re diving?

: Click to hear a tail slap

: what it sounds like underwater

Here’s a question I never thought of before and have never read anything about. Do beavers vocalize underwater? Can they make their little whining call back and forth to each other? Can kits call their parents for a ride underwater? Can adults warn kits to stay low when danger is near? If beavers do communicate underwater what does it sound like? How far does it travel?

So once again, I wrote every beaver expert I could think of about the question, and the answers are still trickling in. Mostly they read as “I have no idea! Who has ever thought about that question?” And of course the answer is, um…yours truly. I got a heart-breaking story from a friend of a friend who does acoustic ecology recordings and had never heard of beaver vocalizations being recorded underwater, but thought it was likely and was interested. He told of an adult malee recording his friend got when a dam was blown up killing the mate. That night the male swam about the ruined pond crying in what he says was the saddest sound he’d ever heard from human or animal.

Sigh.

We need beaver recordings underwater, and more information about the tools they use to communicate out of sight. I will end this conversation with the most vibrant, mournful and wild sound I have ever heard. Wait until the sun sets.

: Soundscape Algonquin National Park Canada

heidi08 Uncategorized April 22, 2011

Et in Arcadia Ego

heidi08 Beaver News, Beavers elsewhere, Educational April 23, 2011

Arcadia National Park celebrated National Park week in the second best possible way imaginable: Teaching children about beavers! Click on the link for a short video from the local news. (Mind you this is Arcadia in Maine, not California, and they need some positive beaver education.)

Through the Schoodic Education and Research Center these kids can learn about how beavers adapt to their “The kids like to look at the parts and learn about how the beaver eats and swims and protects itself,” said Kate Petrie, Supervisory Park Ranger for Education. Beavers are creatures these kids may encounter on a daily basis so organizers believe they should know how to act around them.”We live near a big pond and we have across the pond there’s a big beaver house.”

Children Learn About Beavers

Of course the FIRST best possible way to celebrate is to teach ADULTS about beavers and how to live with them. Maybe that will happen next week? Worth A Dam has three teaching events coming up, two at separate preschools and one at a kindergarten. We will show some video, talk about beavers, and have the children paint tails. Just in case you wondered, we will probably not be bringing beaver body parts for the children to pet. Go figure.