Month: June 2015

The yearly beaver census

Do you know that feeling that Christmas night when you’ve already opened all the presents from all the relatives and been excited and/or disappointed all day in regular intervals. And after you reach way back in the pile to get your last aunt’s or second cousins gifts you find ONE FINAL PRESENT with your name on it. A present that you never knew about! A sudden opportunity to increase your haul and erase the disappointing socks or whatever you never wanted in the first place. You thought christmas was over. And here it is suddenly starting again!

Guess what Cheryl and Jean saw four of yesterday? I’ll give you a hint. It has fur, ears and a tiny tail. That’s right they saw FOUR kits instead of the lucky three we thought we had. Four is a lot! We haven’t had that many since 2008. It’s been seven long years since we had four new kits to fuss over and worry about. Here is one of our favorite mornings of all times, before the city decided to kill the beavers, before Worth A Dam, before I knew anything about websites or beavers. This was so long ago that I don’t even have the footage anymore, I didn’t know how to save it back them. We were just watching something wonderful in the town where we happened to live.

Four is the product of a strong healthy mom and a calorie-rich habitat, which I was starting to think the beavers had worn down. Especially since we only got a single kit last year. Encroaching phragmites or not there must be some feeding going on, because a beaver that has four babies is well fed. That brings our current count to NINE! Mom, Dad, 2 two-year olds, Junior and FOUR KITS! We’ve only had nine once before!

Wow, that bank hole must be crowded!

I guess during that early video from Moses one must have been still asleep? and missed out on the swimming lesson? I can’t wait to see four for myself and find out what this unexpected edition has in store!

I noticed that my letter to the editor was published in the Gazette. I was greatly annoyed by the loss of the fallen tree, when so many other nuisances are allowed to accumulate in the creek and this seemed like the best way to say it.

The tale of the invisibility park

Once upon a time there was a town with a patch of green that stretched between the creek and corp yard where everything that occurred became magically invisible. No one knew why.

At any hour of the day homeless, transients and criminals could drink alcohol, smoke weed, huff, sell drugs or even examine the contents of stolen property and even the police who visited would avert their eyes because the park, and everything that happened there, was invisible. Maintenance never disturbed the layers of trash, sleeping bags or empty bottles strewn there and the creek was allowed to become cluttered with debris.

Meanwhile, 30 feet away, a still living tree that had leaned into the water, providing food and shelter for birds, fish and beavers, was swiftly removed at considerable city expense. Because unlike the other miles of creek littered with shopping carts and tires, this particular section was NOT invisible.

– Heidi Perryman

Any time I can express public disapproval of the city’s ridiculous actions creatively enough to avoid looking mean, I’m a happy, happy girl.

Everything old is new again

heidi08 Beavers, Educational, kits, Who's saving beavers now? June 29, 2015

The first time, ever I saw your face from Heidi Perryman on Vimeo.

Things are looking familiar down at the beaver dam. Three kits and at least four adults in residence, plus Junior. It all makes for some pretty exciting beaver viewing. Not to mention that apparently five out of the six new pairs of kit eyes are developing conjunctivitis just like the old days…Sheesh. Rickipedia pointed out that the e coli in Palo Alto streams all starts with grazing cattle in the upper watershed. And I bet that’s how our beavers got unlucky again. Another reason to dislike cows near open water. Funny that everyone assumes it’s the city life and chemicals that give our beavers a hard time, when its really the wide open spaces with cows.

Here the new kit is feeding alongside mom and dad. You can even see mom remind him of his manners. I particularly love how fully the kit is part of their lives. He goes where they go, does what they do. It makes me remember those rare moments as a child when I was allowed to tag along with my father to work. It was so exciting to be with him in his big world. Beavers always bring their kids to work. Every day, whether their mudding or damming or feeding. It’s part of the package.

Side by side from Heidi Perryman on Vimeo.

We’re still waiting for three kits to pose kindly in the same frame. But trust me, there are three. Apparently two share a similar gender or disposition and like to hang in pairs. But one is definitely his own beaver, and rejects the opportunities to crowd with his siblings. I think it’s the one with only one eye infected at the moment, so maybe that explains it. But since beavers groom their entire bodies and spread that bacteria around, I’m sure it will be both soon.

Let’s hope a high tide and some fresh salty water will help clean everyone soon. Mom’s been shaking her head a lot lately, so I’m guessing hers is an ear infection. Stupid cows.

With three kits and so many adults there’s always lots of time for my favorite thing. If your sound is up I think you’ll be able to hear a little of it here.

kit whining from Heidi Perryman on Vimeo.

The ‘tooth’ hurts

heidi08 Who's saving beavers now? June 28, 2015

635707573409822790-Justin-Beaver-2---Greenwood-Wildlife-Rehabilitation-Center — Greenwood Wildlife’s veterinarian, Alison Hazel, DVM, and Wildlife Rehabilitator Josh Traver are trying to get a good look at Justin’s teeth. (Photo: Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center)

‘Justin Beaver’ chips 2 front teeth after falling

BOULDER – A young beaver – creatively named Justin Beaver – is recovering from his injuries after taking a tumble off of Boulder Falls on June 19.

According to Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, Justin – who is a little over a year old – broke his upper front tooth down to the gum line and chipped his lower front tooth. He also had to get multiple stitches to repair the laceration on his head. He was brought into the facility by Boulder Park Ranger Dave Gustafson.

Gustafson says he found Justin just above Boulder Falls on State Highway 119.

“I was driving on into work – happened to be on call that night – and saw him in a place that beavers don’t live,” Gustafson told 9NEWS. “He was trying to walk back up the canyon. There’s some beaver dams [near Nederland.]”

Justin’s lower tooth will have to be shaved down to be at the same level as his other, undamaged lower tooth. If beaver teeth are misaligned, beavers cannot eat anymore and will die. His upper front tooth will have to be trimmed on occasion, but since they are still coming in, a more permanent solution won’t happen until the tooth is done growing.

Ow! Poor Justin. That’s a long fall. Good thing a rehabber was on hand to help, although I’m not sure how a beaver with shaved down teeth is a solution. Rodent teeth never stop growing. So that means he’s never going to be able to go back to the wild?

This article makes me think about our original mom beaver and her fatal broken tooth. I don’t think upper and lower incisors are supposed to ever meet but I guess the pair matching matters because she punctured her own palate which left her vulnerable to a host of infections. In the end she couldn’t even chew because her mouth hurt too much. I remember she let us nudge her easily into the carry crate. She rode in the back of my subaru to the Lindsay Wildlife hospital where they decided to euthanize because her injury was so severe.

It was five years ago almost to the day.

Mom

Honestly when I went down this morning I purposely decided not to bring a camera because I thought it would just be too sad, but I wish I had filmed it so you could all see how completely calm and unpanicked mom was. she just was in no condition to react, and if we had left her alone she was in such a visible part of the creek that people would have intervened and/or called animal control. This way she was completely protected by us and not at all agitated or frightened. It was almost like she knew we wouldn’t harm her, and it certainly felt right, after everything we have been through and all the mornings I have spent with mom to have her riding peacefully in my subaru. We will be out tonight to make sure the kits are feeding and happy. It was becoming clear that the family has already transitioned and the kits have been relying on the yearlings care more and more, which is just like we’d hope.

You would think after five years, a lovely new mom and 8 new kits, it wouldn’t make me cry anymore. Hmm.

The original mom beaver – Photo by Cheryl Reynolds 2008

Victory comes in many forms

heidi08 Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, Who's blaming beavers now?, Who's saving beavers now? June 27, 2015

I won’t force you to read this story with a soundtrack, but, (and I can’t stress this enough) you REALLY should.

Mom fights Shoreline School District about beaver and wins

The maintenance crew at Brookside Elementary in Lake Forest Park had a wildlife-removal firm set up traps to catch and kill a beaver at a creek by the school. Then they heard from moms and kids. The traps are gone.

It took less than three days for the Shoreline School District to capitulate to the moms and kids. The order had gone out to trap a beaver that had arrived at Brookside Elementary in Lake Forest Park.

On Monday, a sign from a firm called Northwest Nuisance Wildlife Control was placed at the creek bordering the school:

“FOR YOUR SAFETY PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH THE TRAPS.”

Left unsaid was that the trapped beaver likely would have been killed, with a shot to the head, as the state doesn’t encourage relocation. Relocated beavers have a poor chance of surviving.

On Wednesday afternoon, the district backtracked with this mass email:

“The traps are being removed from the area. The District will be researching viable approaches to manage this situation. We appreciate community support and insights we have received this week.”

Ohhh yeah! Martinez knows that victory comes when children carry signs and moms write letters. Hurray for Lake Forest Park and the heroes of Brookside elementary! And one mom in particular:

Meet Jenny Muilenburg, librarian at the University of Washington and mother to kids attending Brookside. On Monday morning, returning from a swim team practice, she saw the sign right across the road from her home. Peering from the edge of the road, she saw the metal traps.

This is how protests begin these days.

You take a smartphone picture of that sign. You post on Facebook. You send out news tips to media outlets. You email, then have a phone conversation with the Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation.

Its president, Jean Reid, then pays a personal visit Tuesday to City Hall, which is surprised to hear about the traps. Pressure on the school district mounts.

Muilenburg writes, “Like many schools in the area, the school teaches environmental education, and each year releases salmon into the stream abutting the property … The kids love the beaver …

“Can someone help us figure out why, when local and state governments and nonprofits and volunteers are all working year-round to improve our waterways and greenspaces to encourage wildlife, that a nondestructive, harmless animal that provides a learning opportunity for children and adults alike must be removed?”

By Tuesday, neighborhood kids put up signs by the creek: “We love our beaver.” “Save the beaver!”

Joey Eck, 8, decides the beaver’s name is “Billy.”

Free Willy, Free Billy.

Game. Set. Match.

Someone bring that woman a margarita because she deserves a little treat this weekend. Involving children always makes the difference, and living near the beavers and showing photos to the media doesn’t hurt either! I tracked Jenny down at the university and emailed her a ton of info when the article originally aired. She never wrote back but I’m going to assume it helped.
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Now you just might want to click play on that video again for this story. Just sayin’

Two men rescued after Deschutes River beaver attack – Fell in water after climbing onto dam

BEND, Ore. – Exploring along the banks of the Deschutes River is usually a placid, familiar activity for locals and visitors alike. But two men, from Bend and Redmond, ended up seeking rescuers’ help Thursday evening when they climbed to the wrong spot – a beaver dam – got attacked by a protective beaver and fell into the water, authorities said.

The caller told dispatchers that Clayton Mitchell, 23, of Bend, had walked to his property from upriver and said he and his friend, John Bailey, 31, of Redmond, had been attacked by a beaver.

He reported his friend last was seen in the water, trapped amid some submerged logs, said Sgt. Bailey (who the department noted is not related to the Redmond man)

Sgt. Bailey said an investigation found the two men were exploring along the river when they climbed onto a beaver dam when they were “attacked by a beaver protecting his/her dam and both subjects fell into the Deschutes River.”

“Mitchell was able to immediately climb out of the water, but Bailey was caught on some logs by his clothing,” the sergeant said. “Bailey eventually was able to climb out of the water as the first deputy arrived at the location.”

The story was of course picked up by the AP and is running absolutely everywhere, but no one has managed to explain to me whether the hikers were walking on the dam or the lodge, and what exactly constituted the “attack”. I wish I was hired as an attorney for the defense. Near as I can tell these hikers got scared by the beaver approaching, fell into the water and got poked by some sticks from the dam.

Which, as far as I’m concerned, serves them right. Because I hate when humans walk on the dam.

NOT BEAVER

heidi08 mistaken identities June 26, 2015

This classy looking edifice is the Helen Schuer Nature Center in Alberta Canada. Yesterday I received an email from them asking for access to some of the “Wonderful, high quality images of beavers on our website” to use in an educational program for Canada day.

Right! I thought proudly. We do have some very high quality images. We are so cool that Canada asks us for help! How awesome is that?

Of course I’m always happy when we can share with people that educate about beavers. What particular photos were they interested in? I bet you’ll never guess.

I hardly need to tell you do I? Nutria, woodchuck, woodchuck. Kind of like a game of “duck duck goose” only sadder.

They were especially interested in this photo on the right. Which they found on our website and thought showed the detail so clearly.

Apparently they weren’t interested in the nagging text that was printed along with it. This was from an article posted in December 2012.

I can’t find the museum where this lovely diaorama is displayed, but if that’s a living breathing pair of mismatched beavers I will kiss a goat. I helpfully wrote the poster that they would find photos of real beavers on our website and were welcome to share them and the poster wrote back saying she had no reason to think these weren’t real beavers, as she found the story on the BBC.

Let’s start with the with the easy parts. Texture. These beavers are completely dry. Not castorum coating dry but just back from the salon in sedonna dry. Let’s talk about size. These beavers size difference suggest parent and kit – but they are completely different colors. Even if there was some kind of unique throwback gene in operation, the left beavers face looks jarringly unreal. You found this on the BBC? First of all, there are no beavers in england to speak of so the BBC is uniquely unqualified to decide what is an actual beaver.

I wrote back politely that I was very happy they were doing a program on beaver, and we had many high quality images of beaver on the site which we would be happy to share. But the ones she had sent were NOT BEAVER or not living beaver. I would be happy to look through the images she chose if she liked to make sure they were actually beaver.

I heard nothing back.