Category: Beaver Anatomy

Beaver teeth carving: Shigir Idol

heidi08 Beaver Anatomy, Beaver Art, Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Educational, History, What's killing beavers now? June 17, 2017

Three times older than the pyramids and twice as old as Stonehenge, the statue was originally dug out of a peat bog by gold miners in the Ural Mountains in 1890. The remarkable seven-faced Idol was carved with a beaver jaw and is now on display in a glass sarcophagus in a museum in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

Beaver’s teeth ‘used to carve the oldest wooden statue in the world’

New scientific findings suggest that images and hieroglyphics on the wooden statue were carved with the jaw of a beaver, its teeth intact. Two years ago German scientists dated the Idolas being 11,000 years old.

At a conference involving international experts held in the city this week, Professor Mikhail Zhilin said the wooden statue, originally 5.3 metres tall, was made of larch, with the basement and head carved using silicon faceted tools. ‘The surface was polished with a fine-grained abrasive, after which the ornament was carved with a chisel,’ said the expert.

‘At least three [sets of teeth] were used, and they had different blade widths.

The faces were ‘the last to be carved because apart from chisels, some very interesting tools – made of halves of beaver lower jaws – were used’.

Zhilin, leading researcher of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Archeology, has spoken previously of his ‘feeling of awe’ when studying the Idol, more than twice as old as the Stonehenge monuments in England.

‘This is a masterpiece, carrying gigantic emotional value and force,’ he said. ‘It is a unique sculpture, there is nothing else in the world like this. It is very alive, and very complicated at the same time.

‘The ornament is covered with nothing but encrypted information. People were passing on knowledge with the help of the Idol.’ Only one of the seven faces is three dimensional.

While the messages remain ‘an utter mystery to modern man’, it was clear that its creators ‘lived in total harmony with the world, had advanced intellectual development, and a complicated spiritual world’, he said.

The professor has found such a ‘tool’ made from beaver jaw at another archeological site – Beregovaya 2, dating to the same period.

Studying the Idol, he believed the tool is consistent with its markings, ‘for example when making holes more circular’, said Svetlana Panina, head of the archaeology department at Sverdlovsk Regional Local History Museum.

The idol was put on a stone basement, not dug in the ground, said Zhilin. It stood lik

e this for around 50 years before falling into a pond, and was later covered in turf. The peat preserved it as if in a time capsule.

I know I have very specific tastes in news, but that is sooo cool. Of course if there were ready made carving tools all around you would use them, rather than make your own. I’m assuming the fact that there were three sizes of tools means that they were three ages of beaver harvested?

Regular readers of this blog will know right away why it was the bottom mandible and not the top used for carving. I used to think this tusk-beaver from a bavarian crest was so silly -but it actually makes more sense than our modern bucktoothed cartoon.

Despite what the funny-papers tell us, lower teeth are much larger (which is why it’s so rare to get photos of the upper ones). One fine exception to that rule of castor is this wonderful photo taken by my facebook beaver buddy Sylvie Biber. That may not be her real name, considering, but I believe she’s eastern European, living in Scotland, where she took this wonderful photo.

Top Teeth Sylvie — *Beaver teeth: Sylvie Biber*

You can bet I’d chose the bottom ones for my carving!
This also made me remember the research I did of the bay area tribes that lived near Brentwood and Antioch. In their burial grounds archeologists found beaver mandibles buried with the bodies and all their posessions. The paper I read said that no one knew why. Psychologist that I am, I always assumed it was because beaver teeth changed things and what do folks want to change more than death? But maybe they were precious tools, just being tucked away with the owner?

Marching towards victory

heidi08 Beaver Anatomy, Beaver Behavior, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and Ice, Beavers and Insects, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Who's saving beavers now? June 10, 2017

Yesterday was a VERY good day. We had three thrilling pieces of very good news, consisting of 1) for the very first time we get a US Forest Service exhibit at the festival which we never did before, 2) that the Alhambra Valley Band is confirmed in some variation, and 3) that Brock Dolman is going to appear in beaver costume to talk about beaver benefits on stage. I am so happy when things fall into place that I start looking immediately on the horizon for the dark cloud (or piano) that will inevitably follow.

But things are going in the right direction. I’m definitely happy for that.

Meanwhile, in the world of false beaver accusations, cranky old men are still saying crazy things about beavers, just in case you were curious.

Critter built impoundment beneath railroad bridge spurs Tom McDonald to action.

Over time, he sold most of the 11 acres. Other developers created the Portland Fairview RV Park, and a cozy cluster of single-family homes sprung up around Palisade Drive, Heartwood Circle and other residential streets. McDonald owns just a sliver of land between the RV park and Northeast 217th Court. Fairview Creek runs right through the tract, and Union Pacific’s railroad trestle is just a stone’s throw away.

That’s where the problems began, and McDonald had what he described as a “Holy cripes!” moment.

“We were out talking (and) walking around, and beavers were popping up around our feet,” McDonald relates. “They put a delay on our deal because it was so wet.”

During the prep period before any sale was possible, McDonald discovered that his land had experienced some heavy flooding. The culprit appeared to be an industrious beaver clan that had built a 6-foot-tall dam across Fairview Creek under the railroad bridge. While the Multnomah County Drainage District No. 1 could technically lower the waterline at Fairview Lake, this wouldn’t remove the dam or solve the long-term problem with flooding.

During the prep period before any sale was possible, McDonald discovered that his land had experienced some heavy flooding. The culprit appeared to be an industrious beaver clan that had built a 6-foot-tall dam across Fairview Creek under the railroad bridge. While the Multnomah County Drainage District No. 1 could technically lower the waterline at Fairview Lake, this wouldn’t remove the dam or solve the long-term problem with flooding.

“Looking at the situation from a layman’s view, it appears that area is ‘honeycombed’ with beaver burrowing,” McDonald said.

Because you know how beavers like to burrow in wetlands. Dig Dig Dig, that’s what beavers do. And destroy train trestles, like in those silent movies.

Honestly, is the crazyoldmanvan coming for you soon? I mean what would be the POINT of a beaver digging in flooded banks? They obviously aren’t making a lodge inside them. Now I suppose they theoretically could be making a canal to drag supplies through, but do you honestly think the metal and cement pilings and steel girders of the modern train trestle are going to be troubled by a bunch of beavers?

I’m a little doubtful about the 6 foot dam myself. I mean our dam was assessed by PWA once as 7 feet tall but that was because they were lying and measuring with sticks of terror. You can tell it’s not 7 feet tall because the man in the front filming is Moses Silva of sturdy Mayan frame and just over 5 feet. Assuming his mystery dam was as high as ours that means those beavers had a lot of resources to choose from.

Looking at this it’s kind of amazing to think that mom and Dad made this whole thing by themselves back then, because there were no yearlings to help.

Now I’m officially looking forward to our summer lineup. Here’s Brock as Buster Beaver at the Daily Acts breakfast in Sonoma in 2014.

Remember the good ol’ days and those cool hats?

heidi08 Beaver Anatomy, Beavers elsewhere, Educational, Environmental, What's killing beavers now? June 2, 2017

It’s time to honor the beaver trapper again, at least somebody thinks it is. This glitzy article out of Canada at least has the presence of mind to pose it as a question. And to interview Leslie Fox of Fur-bearer Defenders also. I guess that’s a little progress in 150 years? It also features some interactive graphics and a 360 video of trapping a beaver because there’s no end to the money HBC will spend glorifying the sport, apparently.

The title of this glitzy article is too clever by half. Not the trappers life of course…the trap line. Get it?

Life on the line

Are fur trappers stuck in the past or a vital piece of Canada’s living heritage?

“That’s good, that’s what we need,” Henschell answers, as Kotowich heaves up a water-logged beaver that’s been dead since the trap snapped shut. The pudgy creature thuds on the ice. Like generations of fur-bearing animals before it, this buck-toothed symbol of Canadian sovereignty met its end in a trap.

With 100 years of experience between them, Henschell and Kotowich say they trap because they love the wilderness and its solitude. They trap to connect with something powerful and elusive that they feel some smartphone-addicted young people are losing sight of in the internet age.

“It’s like going home,” says Henschell, who comes from a family of trappers and says he was conceived in a remote log cabin in the fall of 1938, not long after his parents married.

Canada marks 150 years of nationhood on July 1, 2017. Much of what led to the country’s birth revolved around the trapping and trading of furs, but while the commerce and conflicts of the trade are central to Canada’s history, there is pressure to envision a future without fur.

Some argue there’s no longer a need for the industry.

Lesley Fox, the B.C.-based executive director of the Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals, says Canada’s historic connection to the fur trade makes it difficult to challenge the industry.

“There is a lot of nostalgia, a lot of Canadiana, and the media hypes that up,” she says.”The modern-day fur trade is very, very different than the fur trade I think we know from our history books.”

The fur trade is inherently cruel and the range of affordable synthetic alternatives have rendered wild fur unnecessary, Fox says.

Sales by the global fur farm industry dwarf those of the wild fur trade year over year; Fox says that illustrates how trapping in 2017 is akin to a frivolous leisure activity like trophy hunting.

“There is a lot of talk about ‘living off the land,’ ‘stewards of the land,’ the word Indigenous gets thrown around a lot, ‘people’s livelihoods,’ and in my opinion that’s all rhetoric. It’s actually not true,” she says.

The province also helped pay for eight “beaver deceivers” — one of several non-lethal flow devices to prevent beaver damming — last year. Animal rights activist Fox says the non-lethal methods are more effective long-term solutions, and trappers should start using their skills to deploy beaver deceivers and other flow devices instead of killing the creatures.

Hooray for Leslie. And hooray for actually mentioning long-term solutions. But we need more talk about what all those beavers that were taken away once gave to Canada! Mind you, there is a lot of sanctimonious tripe about how important trapping is to indigenous people and how tragic it is that an entire way of life (not beaver life, mind you) is forgotten. I suppose with July 1st looming that’s unavoidable. What I object to is that there is ZERO mention that when a trapper turns an animal into fur it takes away the ecosystem services from ALL OF US.

Rather than complain anymore I will just post the lovely finished design that was painted for us by Coyote Brush Studios, and let you admire something truly beautiful. I’m pretty sure this makes the point better than I can hope too. Thank you Tina Curiel and Lindsey Moore for your stunning work!

Checking in on old friends…

heidi08 Beaver Anatomy, Beaver Behavior, Beavers May 11, 2017

This morning Choppa is in the news again! You remember him. He was that little yearling that ‘escaped’ from the Kansas children’s zoo and created a stir in the community when he strove for freedom. He eventually was recapture and has returned to captive life, but a local artist and musician posted a picture on his face book page with a pleas for his safe release.

“He was desperately trying to claw and chew his way out of his cage, so much so that he was bleeding from his mouth,” Hickey wrote in the caption accompanying the photograph. “I’m not an activist or a political person, but it was unbearable to watch, so I have to say something. This animal hides all day because it doesn’t like humans gawking at it, then at night it injures itself in a frantic but futile attempt to escape from its prison.”

This of course prompted worry and outrage and upset calls to the zoo that did their best to soothe jangled nerves with an article in the Wichita Eagle. Apparently ‘rumors of his death had been greatly exaggerated’.

Despite what you may have heard, Chapa the beaver is fine, city says

Wichita officials on Wednesday moved to calm local concerns about the health of Chapa the beaver, whose wandering ways a few years ago turned him into a local celebrity and landed him on this year’s Riverfest poster.

Local writer, gamer, artist and musician Esper Jared Hickey posted a photograph of Chapa on his Facebook page Tuesday, taken at the Kansas Wildlife Exhibit in Central Riverside Park the night before.

Hickey’s post prompted a number of responses, including one from a woman who wrote “Why does that zoo even still exist? It’s so cruel to the animals.”

But Stacey Hamm, director of marketing and development for Wichita Park and Recreation, said in an e-mail response to questions Wednesday that Chapa and his cage are in normal condition.

“Beavers are nocturnal rodents that are seldom active during the day,” Hamm said. “Chapa spends a lot of time in his den during the day. Beavers have different tooth enamel than people. Their front incisors are large and visible. The outer enamel of those teeth is much harder than ours and has a brownish color.”

Chapa receives all proper veterinary care, Hamm said, and “gets all he wants to eat.” Staff weave and stack tree branches that Chapa labors to disassemble every night. What has changed recently, Hamm said, is that the waterfall at a small pond next to the exhibit has been turned on.

“Chapa hears the noise of rushing water and it makes him want to go dam it up,” she said.

Chapa gained fame two years ago when he broke out of his enclosure in Central Riverside Park and spent several days on the lam before he was spotted swimming in the Arkansas River. A couple of days later

, he was discovered trying to dig his way back into his cage.

His escapades landed him on this year’s Riverfest poster.

Now, I agree totally that a beaver is nocturnal and will likely stay in his hole all day and come out at night, and I agree that his teeth are continuing to grow so it’s likely he gnaws on the cage all night, but he must get lonely and bored sometimes. Honestly, is there anyway to read the zoo assurances and not hear echoes of the smarmy reassurance “the norwegian blue prefers sleeping on its back“?

I heard from Glynnis Hood yesterday that she uses similar observations to infer the age of the beaver based on its incisor size shown on wood gnawings as Peter Busher. And we studiously checked our chews, finding that marks weren’t all the same size, even on the same pieces of wood, which could mean the different beavers are helping but might also mean that tooth marks change depending on the angle of the head.

Jon had the excellent point, ‘If I chew an apple my teeth marks don’t look the same with every bite”. Which I pointed out to Glynnis and to which she admitted that it hasn’t actually ever been studied and is just an informed guess.

Well then!

Rusty went to Bill Leikam’s fox talk last night at the Napa Library and saw this on his way home. Lucky bastard. 🙂

Three States and Counting

heidi08 Beaver Anatomy, Beaver Chewing, Beavers, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Educational, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? May 10, 2017

There was a rickety bridge I used to cross when I walked across the creek to my volunteer job back in the long-agoes. Every time I did so I began by carefully considering whether the rotten old thing would be strong enough to hold me one more time. In the back of my mind I knew I should give up and go the long way – but the long way was very long. And the parts of the bridge without holes were pretty sturdy looking. Eventually I would pick my way across the strongest bits surprised that the thing which looked so worn out still had strength left in it. In all those years I never fell 25 feet to my death and it never failed me.

I’m hoping that our democracy is like that bridge this morning. Meanwhile, let’s talk about beavers.

Beaver Phys.org has a very nice story about climate change and our favorite topic, so this article about the Wildlife Conservation Society is exactly the right place to start. I especially love the title:

The latest weapons against climate change: The beaver, the oyster, cold water and more…

Beavers, high elevation streams, and oyster reefs are just three of the weapons in the fight against climate change discussed in 14 Solutions to Problems Climate Change Poses for Conservation, a new report released today by WCS.

From re-introduced beavers restoring the water storage capacity of ecosystems in Utah and Washington, to redesigned culverts that accommodate flooding in Upstate New York, the report showcases 14 inventive “real-world” solutions to a warming climate threatening wildlife and ecosystems worldwide.

Solutions profiled include traditional and innovative conservation tools applied strategically to address climate change impacts such as decreasing water availability, increasing risk of flooding and wildfires, rising sea levels, direct effects on species and habitats, and changing land use and human behaviors.

WCS Climate Adaptation Fund Program Director Darren Long said, “We are thrilled to share our ’14 Solutions’ report, and for others to learn from the adaptation work of those whose projects are showcased here. These solutions are on the leading edge of a field where traditional conservation work is no longer sustainable or strategic in light of climate change.”

One of those fourteen solutions was a grant to the Methow Project in Washington, another was building pretend beaver dams in Montana. Go read the report here, and just be grateful there are little steps we can make to help ourselves, and organizations like WCS to help us do it.

Time to visit Boston College where Beaver researcher Peter Busher has some interesting desk-o-rations. HDr. Busher hasn’t always been what I call a beaver believer, but he’s always been interested in the animal. Go to the website where you can see an interactive page that allows you to click on specific items and learn why they’re on his desk. I am currently wondering if this intriguing fact is true:

You know I’m already off to examine ALL the beaver chews in our house and compare incisor width. I asked a few experts whether they agree, because it’s nothing I ever head before. Oooh interesting.

Now onto Nebraska where their Ground water festival is in full swing. It’s been going on since 1988 so okay, they have us beat. But I’m not exactly impressed with the activity or the teaching about beavers! (Troubling statements will appear in red!)

Fourth-graders learn of key role of beavers and wetlands in nature

Build, Beaver, Build was a new activity presented by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission at the Children’s Groundwater Festival on Tuesday at Central Community College in Grand Island.Monica Macoubrie, wildlife education assistant, quizzed Boone Central fourth-graders about beavers and why they are critical to groundwater.

After her instruction, the kids enjoyed making an edible beaver lodge out of pretzels and chocolate frosting.

“We talk about why beaver dams are so important for groundwater and all the other species that use the wetland areas,” Macoubrie said. “Then they make their own beaver lodges. Lodges are different than dams, and we want to show the kids the difference.”

Macoubrie passed a couple of props, including a beaver skull, around to the students. She told them that beavers are members of the rodent family and that the unique orange coloring of their teeth is characteristic of rodents.

Really? Are rabbit teeth orange? Prairie dog?

Scientists classify beavers as keystone creatures because the ponds and wetlands created by their lodges are also used by many other animals and plants. Macoubrie quizzed the students about what kinds of creatures depend on the wetlands created by beavers.

“Keystone species are anything that affects other animals,” she said. “Without our keystone species, those other animals would not be as abundant as they are.”

Another reason beavers are a keystone species is the fact that half of all threatened and endangered animals in North America rely on wetlands.

“Without those beavers, we would not have half of those animals,” Macoubrie said.

Which half, the front half?

She said beaver populations are doing well in Nebraska.

“They are considered a least concerned species, so we have a lot of them,” Macoubrie said.In fact, Nebraska Game and Parks officials are sometimes called to help relocate beavers when their dams present a flooding problem for property, she said.

Okay, in a metaphysical way, death IS a kind of relocation. The last relocation.

Marcia Lee, festival coordinator, said Cedar Hollow teachers Ashley Dvorak and Lola Hoover attended the festival with 44 students. Dodge Elementary teachers Michelle Carter, Alma Gutierrez, Amy Mingus and Nikki Stevens brought 67 students. Knickrehm Elementary teachers Sydney Gartner and Diane Meyer attended with 32 students. Trinity Lutheran teacher Wendy Heider brought 11 students.

Overall, 744 students attended this year’s festival with 43 teachers from 19 schools. More than 30,000 students have been educated at the festival since 1988. The Nebraska Children‘s Groundwater Festival has been replicated in 41 states in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, India and the United Kingdom.

The Groundwater festival is a big big deal with a big foundation and financial backers. In Platte Nebraska it is focused on regional issues and makes a huge difference. I can’t exactly argue with that and I’m glad they teach about beavers. Fracking pressures are driving water protections down in the region, and for people to learn more about what sustains them seems necessary. I can’t help be curious how much money fracking donates to these festivals. I’m sure its some respectable amount designed to influence and make things appear rosy.

But let’s face it, the ground water festival needs some better beaver education and activity. I think I’ll just drop them a note.