Yesterday’s Facebook was SO exciting for beavers. First I posted Ben’s “salty” article in the beaver management forum and OSU researcher Vanessa Petro wrote that it was misleading because they had been including tidal beavers in their research for years. And i tried to mollify by saying maybe you’ve been working on this issue for years but its very important that articles like Ben’s get written because its definitely not widely known. And then Ben stood up for himself and said it wasn’t fair to call it misleading but that he wished he could have interviewed her. And then they got more polite and back and forthed and Ben said they could hash it out at the beaver conference and Vanessa said it was too bad she wouldn’t be there this year because she’s still on maternity leave! 
And I said that was disappointing because I had been looking forward to the video of them arm-wrestling! Sarah Koenisberg said she would have filmed it. And Ben laughed and said his money was on Vanessa!
Conversations don’t usually get that hot on the beaver management page but it was fun to observe – especially because I loved that article SO much and can vividly remember the chief pathologist at CDFG saying that our kits probably died because they were in salt water.
!!!!!!
Anyway them the Norwegian beaver project posted a photo of a beaver living in an old Alaskan mining machine and asked where was the oddest place the group had seen beaver living.
Which prompted one member to post this:
Gordon Fjeld The most surprising place I have observed beaver and filming beaver, was in 2007 in the center of town the Gjøvik. They had actually built a house inside Hunton Fiber, in an old basement that the factory did not use any more. The beavers used the old pipes that lead into the river, as a safe and easy track to eat and collect food and branches for construction. This was shown at NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting Company) the same year. Great experience!!
And he shared this video which I am going to share with you and if you’re like me your mind will be totally blown. Forget the cockroaches taking over the world after we burn it up, my money is on the beavers. At least watch until that little kit comes out of the pipe. So sweet.
You’re welcome.
2 comments on “BEAVER GOSSIP”
Judy Taylor-Atkinson
January 30, 2019 at 8:44 amThe kit tumbling into the water was so cute!
The disagreement between the and the media expert is something all researchers have to pay more attention to…….their problem getting the message out. Researchers have been faced with this dilemma for eons. They love doing the research, have been trained in all aspects of doing the research but they come up short on having a conduit to the public. Researchers don’t have the communication machinery or the skills. Sometimes it’s a matter of money, sometimes it’s a reticience on their on behalf, sometimes it’s simply not knowing how the communication pathways work. This is where, in my opinion, the Not for Profits come into play. The reseachers who access the organizations who have memberships, communication experts on staff and money can reach out to the public with the newest research. Most importantly, the communications staff know how to translate the research into a language that the average public can understand and do it in a way that is interesting.
heidi08
February 1, 2019 at 8:08 amThat’s a great point judy. maybe this is an op-ed in your future?