Good weather means good sights in the outdoors
Les Winkeler, Southern Illinoisian
You know it’s a good day when you feel like a cameraman for The Discovery Channel or Animal Planet. My wife and I took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather last week to take a hike as sunset approached. We stopped near a small body of water to watch, and listen, to a dozen or more double-crested cormorants heading to the roost for the evening.
My wife was watching through binoculars when she noticed something swimming. At first, it appeared to be a muskrat, but as the critter approached, it was obviously too large. It didn’t take us long to figure out it was a beaver swimming toward us.
What a delightful start to an article! I can practically hear the frogs peeping in the background as I settle in with Les to see what unfolds! And the fact that it’s from a part of the country where I know of only one [ONE] beaver advocate in the entire state makes it even more interesting! Let’s hope Les and his wife see something amazing at the beaver pond, so that they are inspired to come to this website and learn more about beavers – and end up teaching fellow Illinoisians how and why you should live with beavers. Mind you I don’t want to get too mystical or anthropomorphic on you but I have noticed that beavers seem to have a sixth sense about who to show remarkable things to.
This time he was even closer. And, as he passed by, he made a hard left turn toward the bank, no more than 25 yards away. The beaver appeared to be carrying something in his front paws. Remarkably, when Theodore reached the bank he stood up. Still carrying something in his front paws, he walked out of the water on his hind legs. After surveying the bank for a few seconds, he put his cargo down and re-entered the water.
I’ve seen beavers before. I’ve seen them swim about. I’ve seen them gnaw on logs. I’ve seen, and heard, them smash their tails against the water. However, I’d never seen a beaver walk on its hind legs before.
Aha! A very special viewing indeed! This is as good a time as any to repeat our discussion on wednesday that no beaver observer ever saw any beaver working on the lodge except mom, and the walking upright seems to be lodge based. My guess is that “Theodor-A” was thinking where to put her lodge” so that she could give birth to the kits that were already starting to make their presence known in side her. I have also said on more than one occasion that the matriarch of the colony usually decides who or what is safe for everyone else. Our mom beaver was the bravest and easiest to observe. She seemed to have razor sharp people skills and knew who and what to avoid. Listen to Sherri Tippie’s interview again and think about her comment that the mother beaver was always the last to be trapped.
Dad makes his way in the world by caution. Mom makes her way with judgement.
When it became obvious he wasn’t coming back, we checked out his cargo. It turned out to be a gooey mass of mud, leaves, twigs and aquatic vegetation.
I had the opportunity to talk to a biologist later in the week. He suggested the beaver might have been caching raw materials for a building project — a logical possibility.
Ya’ think? Les that beaver was starting a lodge, and probably you didn’t see her again because she was working from under the bank on the entrance. Here’s a picture of our mom beaver carrying those building materials for her second lodge:
If I were you I would keep an eye on that pond. Beaver gestation period is 107 days, but based on the season I’m guessing she’s already half way through her pregnancy. For the first month after their born we never see the kits, but in about 2 months you should see some truly amazing sights in that pond.
