Month: January 2015

Some unexpected rescues

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers, Beavers and water, Recent Sightings January 17, 2015

44-pound beaver captured at Tempe Town Lake

Stay tuned for more exciting wildlife break thru’s from AZ Central, like deformed turtle body almost entirely engulfed with shell and 13 foot tall giraffe discovered to be too awkwardly shaped to reach water! Thank goodness the team was on hand to rescue this little ‘fat mess’. I hope they found something actually WRONG with this beaver if they end up keeping him for a month.

Maybe I’m being too hard on Arizona. Just because we here in Martinez know that 44 pounds is the weight of a subadult, why should they?

Here’s a slightly smarter wildlife rescue from Virgina. Seems a beaver of almost exactly the same size was chewing a tree that fell vertically on his tail and trapped him there.

Between a Tree and a Hard Place

When I got there, I pulled around the corner and saw this small woman just pacing back and forth in front of a large truck; as soon as I pulled in the driveway, she ran up to my window and told me to jump in her truck because she didn’t think that my car could make it through the field without getting stuck. The setting was a wooded hillside, slippery from rain the day before. I parked my car, grabbed my capture gloves, a couple of towels, and my transport crate and off we went. We drove through two fields over to her husband’s truck, where the beaver was trapped under a tree next to the river.

I climbed over a short barbed wire fence and got my first glimpse of what I was up against. First of all, the poor little guy was not so little – the beaver weighed about 45 pounds. Knowing how some beavers grow to nearly twice that weight, I was fairly lucky on that count. Somehow, as this beaver had chewed through a 50-foot tall tree; the tree had “fallen” and landed on the beaver’s tail! The tree was still standing up vertically, about a foot away from the stump and was directly on top of the beaver’s tail, pinning him to the ground.

Poor little beaver! Fortunately for him the rescuer got the neighbor with a tractor to lift the tree so the beaver could be wrapped up in towels and brought to the vet. (If you read the story you’ll understand why I’m grateful his ‘first idea’ didn’t work – pulling straight back with the tractor!) The vet determined that the hardy beaver needed only single suture and was ready to be released the next day. Hurray for Virginia wildlife rescues!

Tomorrow we have a Very Important Meeting with the state agency that issued the most beaver depredation permits in California. Thanks to all our helpers and special thanks to Robin from Napa who got this started. Wish us Luck! But honestly, even if it goes spectacuarly badly, Lord knows it will still be the most informative meeting about beavers they’ve ever had.

Raise your hand if you think Worth A Dam’s meeting with Fish and Game is a strange marriage. Oh and Jean saw two beavers last night at the secondary dam at 5:15, Wishing us good luck?

Beaver dreams come true.

heidi08 Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Who's saving beavers now? January 14, 2015

Beaver battle: ‘We’re trying to work with nature’

A young family has moved into the Fraser Heights area of North Surrey and has been causing problems for the city parks department. And according to Carrie Baron, environmental planner for the City of Surrey, the new tenants have been causing headaches at city hall by jamming a nearby creek with sticks and causing it to flood surrounding fields.

“We’re well aware of the beavers at Fraser Glen,” said Baron. “We are planning to put in a new outlet control structure that the beavers are unable to block.”

Since the city has a no-kill policy when it comes to beavers, Baron said the idea is to build a structure that the beavers are unable to block, allowing the creek to run freely, while at the same time providing a safe habitat for the beavers to live in.

City parks workers have also been installing wire fencing on tree trunks around the pond to protect them, as many have been chewed down.

Although relocation of the beavers is an option, Baron said, new beavers would only move in, causing the same issues again.

I had a dream like this once, but it never came true. Have I suddenly died and gone to heaven? Are there really such cities as this in the world? Do employes from public works really wrap trees with wire? Surrey British Columbia is right across the water from Vancouver, so I think we owe Fur-bearer Defenders a heap of gratitude for educating Fraser Heights.

Thank you! And Ms. Carrie Baron, environmental planner extraordinaire! Let’s hope there are lots more like you at home.

There’s more good news to put on your calendars. Michael Runtz is a photographer, educator, and beaver lover from way back. I first connected with him through Donna Debreuil of the Ottawa-Carlton Wildlife center. His brilliant photographs are in the beaver documentary on PBS. I knew he was hard at work on his book about his decade+ beaver observations, but it’s FINALLY going to be released February 1. His interview with Michael Howie for Fur Bearer Defenders Radio airs monday. This is an excerpt from Michael’s review.

About dam time: new book showcases the remarkable world of beavers

Michael Runtz Dam BuildersA perfect mixture of science, poetic anecdotes and gorgeous photos makes up the foundations of Michael Runtz’s Dam Builders: The Natural History of Beavers and Their Ponds (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, February 2015).

Runtz, a renowned naturalist and photographer, and an instructor at Ottawa University, has taken all that is incredible about beavers – from their long evolutionary history, to their social structure, to their aquatic engineering skills – and compiled it in his new book.

It is the combination of these three passions of Runtz that make this book such an essential part of any animal, nature, history or photography lover’s collection.

Preorder the book for your very own here. And listen to the interview on Fur Bearer’s Radio Episode 212 available Monday January 19th, here. I’m sure we’re in for a dam good time!

We need an animator to do this right…

heidi08 Beavers January 13, 2015

Even Steven with Beaver Stories

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, Massachusetts Trapping Law, Who's blaming beavers now?, Who's Killing Beavers Now?, Who's saving beavers now? January 12, 2015

Two steps forward, two steps back. I don’t think we’re moving at all. But I guess good news takes a ton more work to get published, so it matters more. We should be content to see the positive paired with a couple stinkers. Especially in January. Let’s be good stoics and save the good news for last. Before the sugar we need two spoonfuls of bitter beaver ignorance from Massachusetts.

City gets approval to trap beavers causing flooding in South Lowell

LOWELL — A bucktoothed menace reared its furry head in South Lowell last spring, turning Charles Tamulonis’ backyard into a mosquito-infested swamp.

“There’s always this thing about ‘save the beavers,'” Tamulonis said. “But it’s the greatest nuisance in the world depending on where you live.”

Soon after the dam appeared, he began writing to every city official he could think of. For almost a month, nothing happened,

But eventually he spoke with Ralph Snow, commissioner of the Department of Public Works, and the city embarked on the arduous task of securing the proper permitting to breach a dam and trap the beavers — not to mention actually taking on the dam itself.

It took more than five months for the city to secure the proper approval. During that time, a trapper caught 12 beavers behind Tamulonis’ property, some of the weighing more than 50 pounds.

You asked public works last? I would have asked them first. They are notorious for hating beavers! Lessons learned I guess. So you killed a dozen beavers. 2 parents, 5 yearlings and 5 kits. Now the water won’t drip into your basement any more. Never mind that Mike Callahan of Beaver Solutions is 100 miles away, and could have fixed this problem for the long term. Never mind that he just emailed that he gave a TALK last year to the Lowell Conservation Commission. You wanted those 12 beavers dead, and now they are.

Je Suis Castor?

(Mike just added that 12 beavers would be HIGHLY unusual for an urban setting. 5-6 is more common. Sometimes trappers lie to inflate their fees. Which is pretty comforting, but I still need to post this:)

On to the next lie:

Towns to discuss mosquito control budget

The Central Massachusetts Mosquito Control Project also runs a program to breach beaver dams, which cause rivers and streams to become stagnant and attract mosquitoes.

“Those impede water flow,” said Oram.

The $2 million budget, which is a 2.1 percent increase over the $1.9 million fiscal 2015 budget, includes a $20,000 increase for pesticides, garden tools and supplies, $10,000 more for spraying equipment upgrades and $70,000 more in salary increases.

Obviously they need more money. It’s hard work thinking up lies that good! And all those mosquitoes won’t kill themselves! I suppose if Northboro is good for the money they should ask for the moon and see what happens. It’s not like anyone will point out that if more fish and invertebrates are found in beaver ponds, they’ll be lots more trying to eat that larvae. Why worry your pretty head about details like that?

Bring us some good news. I’ve had my fill of liars and murderers this morning. Okay, how about this from New Hampshire?

Beavers help environment, but conflicts with humans can arise

Moose and deer, wood frogs and salamanders, mergansers and great blue herons, otters and weasels – all thrive in the habitats created by beavers.

“I think of them as great little wildlife managers,” said Dave Anderson, a naturalist and director of education at the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.

Beaver is a “keystone species,” Anderson said. “If we were to eliminate their activity, we’d lose wetlands that are critical habitats.”

Anderson, who also co-writes the “Forest Journal” column in the New Hampshire Sunday News, said killing all the animals in an area isn’t a long-term solution to beaver problems.

“You can’t trap them out of existence,” he said. “If you make a gap and the habitat’s suitable, there will be (other) beavers moving in.”

How much do you love Dave right now? Hurray for beaver wisdom in New Hamshire! Dave is also a forest columnist for the New Hamshire journal, so he has a great platform to preach the beaver gospel. But he needs to be a little less passive with his solutions for land-owners I think:

As long as a well or septic system isn’t threatened, homeowners can just wait out the beavers, Tate said. Once they exhaust the available food supply, they’ll move somewhere else, and new ones won’t move in for another seven years or so.

Well, I think I will write Dave about fast-acting solutions that will let land owners cooperate with beavers. In the meantime thank you SO MUCH for your great promotional efforts! I think this is probably the VERY BEST article we have had on beavers from the state.

Let’s conclude with some very cheerful beaver reporting from Kent England. I can’t embed the video but if you click on the photo it will take you to where you can watch three minutes of the delightful story unfolding Enjoy!

Beaver Colony Flourishes in Kent

Pin the tail on the beaver!

heidi08 Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Creative Solutions, Educational, Festival, Who's saving beavers now? January 11, 2015

Let’s say, (and why not) that you’re an eager child at the beaver festival who wants to do the keystone project again. You’re thinking to yourself, I wonder what it will be this year, necklace? Bracelet? You march to the info booth and say that beavers eat leaves and build dams and that Heidi lady gives you something new.

“Everything changes, especially with beavers!” she explains. “We’re not doing the charms this year”, she adds. Instead she hands you a beaver tail made of burlap. “All around the festival at the different exhibits there buttons you can pin to this tail to fill up the Keystone arch and show how beavers make a neighborhood.” “You will earn the buttons by learning how beavers help each animal, because that’s what KEYSTONE SPECIES means. They make all this possible”.

Heidi passes you a laminated card. “This will help you learn how beavers help us, and if you have questions, the people at the booths can make sure you understand.” The card shows how dams lead to bugs, which get eaten by fish and birds, which get eaten by otters and mink and bigger fish. There are pictures so it’s pretty easy to understand. “We aren’t telling you where the buttons are this year. Think of it like an Easter egg hunt. You have to look in every booth and find them, but when you’re all done, you will know a lot! And your tail will look like this.

“The buttons are yours to keep. Bring the laminated cards back to me for someone else to use. Then we would love you to take a short quiz to help us show that this was a good idea and tell what you learned. Put the quiz in this box when you’re done with your mom or dad’s phone number. At the end of the day two quizzes will be chosen at random and the winners will get a beaver kit puppet to keep. Thanks for your help, go show off your tail and teach someone else what you’ve learned!”

Honestly, how cool is that?

This free activity for 150 children is the subject of a grant application to the Fish and Wildlife Commission of Contra Costa County. But don’t worry, even if they turn us down we are doing it. The genius behind those lovely button designs is this man, Marc Poulin from his downtown studio in Oakland. Go right now and look at his designs, because he has made a million things you will want to buy.