Because the beaver isn't just an animal; it's an ecosystem!

Category: pictures


Last Thursday I posted about my conversation with Kat and Rhonda about the beaver situation in Irving Texas. They were protective about their ‘source’ who alerted them to the action and wanted to make sure I would protect her as well. They might not have bothered because Bonnie Bradshaw decided to talk to the media herself.

In Irving, a fallen tree ignites a fight over beaver banishment

Around the same time, Irving was advertising next year’s trapping contract. The only bidders were Moore and Bonnie Bradshaw — a leader in the movement against wildlife relocation.

 Citing research showing higher death rates among transplanted beavers, Bradshaw pitched the city on her plan to scrap the traps and instead coat trees in beaver- repellent paint. Parks officials weren’t interested. They already protect their trees, and needed a way to deal with resident complaints and potential cave-ins caused by beaver caverns.

 So Bradshaw took her pitch to the public, sending out a dire news release that warned of Irving’s “plan to secretly trap beavers.”

 “I could care less about getting the contract,” Bradshaw said. “I just don’t want the beavers trapped.”

 City officials say the new contract — presumed to go to Moore — would merely continue their policy of no-kill, as-needed beaver control. But Bradshaw, quoting from the document, painted it as “a year-long contract to trap ‘as many beavers as possible’ from ‘any wetland area’ within the city limits.” (The contract actually says potential trap sites “will include any type of wet land areas.”)

 “Please shine a spotlight on something that the city is trying to hide under the cover of darkness,” she wrote, highlighting a requirement that trappers work in off-hours and avoid public contact.

 Word of the contract spread through wildlife circles in North Texas and beyond. An ecologist with the Humane Society of the United States emailed the city from Connecticut, warning that more beavers would simply replace the trapped ones.

 Last week, Bradshaw and a few others went to City Hall to promote an online petition against the policy. Nearly 900 have signed.

 Soon, news cameras were in Northwest Park and city officials were answering calls from worried beaver lovers.

 “They’re being misinformed,” said Joe Moses, assistant director of Irving’s parks department. “They’re under the impression we’re going out in the middle of the night trying to rid the city of beavers.”

Bonnie has been working to teach the use of flow devices in Texas. Now that is bringing the message that relocation isn’t the honeymoon it sounds like right to the people! If the mountain won’t come to Muhammad… It’s about time someone talked about the risks of relocation. Especially if you are dumping one or two at a time into an area that already has lots of dumped beavers!

Moore and Bradshaw are big names in North Texas wildlife management. And big rivals.

 Bradshaw contracts with the Johnson Space Center and Dallas, which she says has moved from traps to educating residents since it hired her. Moore, in contrast, roams the region catching gators, snakes and worse. A few years ago, he helped Irving plan a massive roundup of feral hogs.

 “His livelihood depends on promoting the myth that relocating is better for the animals,” Bradshaw said. “That’s not scientifically based.”

 She pointed to studies that found beavers had trouble surviving after being moved. Researchers in Wyoming tracked more than 100 and found that every juvenile either died or wandered away from its new home.

 Moore questioned Bradshaw’s motives. “She’s trying to spank the city of Irving because they didn’t hire her,” he said.

Shh, here’s my favorite part…

 He asked what kind of life a beaver could have surrounded by traffic, concrete and homeowners who tend to shoot nuisance wildlife, not report it.

Funny question that. I know about 36,000 people who can tell you that the  city of Martinez beavers are enormously happy. Seven years happy to be exact. Well let’s hope Irving keeps the argument going long enough to force a discussion and a new beaver management policy. Certainly Mr. Moore’s generous offer to  move beavers piecemeal into a beaver ghetto where they will never find family members and die of competition needs to be exposed to a little more sunlight. I would say Irving is well on their way.

Mean while, our own Cheryl Reynolds has been diligently waiting with camera poised for the arrival of kits with no luck yet. Our beavers have been humerous good sports though and afforded her the opportunity for delightful snapshots this weekend. One came when an old plank floated up on the primary dam at high tide.

walking the plank
Walking the Plank – Photo Cheryl Reynolds

Arrgh! Who knew beavers were pirates? The other fantastic moment came when beavers emerged near the secondary dam through the water so thick with fish there were actually fish flipping around on ther back and head when she surfaced! The many hazards of a beaver’s life!

fisheye close
The old Fisheye – Cheryl Reynolds

I guess we shouldn’t be impatient. Reviewing the history I see that kits weren’t photographed until June 10th last year or July 1st the year before that. Good things will come to those who wait.


From this morning’s Huffington Post:Capture

Beaver Gets Behind The Camera

Beaver Uses LaptopThe unlikely shot – teamed up with one of the critter peering into the screen of a laptop – are the sneaky work of photographer Leopold Kanzler.

Kanzler lured the creature to him using a trail of chopped up apple on the banks of the Danube river, near Vienna. He said: “I had to be extremely patient while waiting for the beaver to stand in all the right positions but it was worth the wait, the pictures are very funny.”

Beaver Uses LaptopFinally! Some help around here! Now I can sleep in and leave the reporting in these capable paws. I enjoy these photos an indescribable amount, they tickle every funny bone I have – especially when I think about what won the battle against our city council lo these many years ago. No wonder they lost. We had helpers!

(BTW – Just so you know, that wooden tripod isn’t long for this world.)


Beaver Dressed As Bee For Halloween Is Awesomely Canadian

Now we’ve seen it all in the Halloween costume tickle trunk. A beaver dressed up as a bumblebee has become a viral hit on Imgur and Reddit. Partly because it’s just so adorably Canadian but also because who keeps a beaver as a pet and walks it on a leash?

Well, we’re not sure who took the photo or what the story is behind this well-dressed little beaver, but it may not actually be anyone’s pet. Judging by the dirty workman slacks on the handler, we think this photo may have in fact been taken at a particularly festive zoo somewhere.

This is from the Huffington Post, so there’s a long discussion of how it’s immoral to dress a wild animal in a costume or keep a beaver as a pet when it should be free to dam and dream. And less attention than you’d expect to the age old question that this might answer as to which, in fact, is the busier. But obviously the real crime is the seasonal atrocity in the abysmal failure to comprehend that  there is no costume on earth or in heaven, or in the murky caverns below that could possibly make that face any cuter.

FKUjDXp

Timor Mortis Conturbat Me

 


Beavers end government shutdown!

Well, almost. Check out this fun article  from KZOK about Sarah’s beaver heading to D.C. to fix the dam congress.  Besides knowing how to cooperate and finish what they start, beavers know something about working with obstructions!

Sarah’s Beaver Ends Government Shut-Storm!

Sarah’s Beaver, unlike some folks in our state, loves it some good government. All this grandstanding over “Obamacare” had got the United States Government shut down completely, which spelled danger for North America’s largest rodent.

 “This is bulls***”, thought the Beaver, and it stowed away on a flight to our nation’s capitol to talk some sense into our state’s congressional delegation.

 Sarah’s Beaver went and met with the Washington State Delegation of the only group in America less popular than Nickleback or dog poop. Congressman (and former King County Sheriff) Dave Reichert (R-Eastside) was the only one of them who would agree to a photograph, but guess what? No sooner did the Beaver get back to Seattle, than the squabbling grown-up toddlers managed to come to some kind of agreement, and the Government of the United States of America can get back to protecting Beavers!

Did I mention I love the state of Washington? I might put this photo on my fridge. Come to think of it, wouldn’t you LOVE a photo with every member of our city council holding a beaver? I can’t believe its never been done. Wow, maybe John Muir too?

Speaking of great photos Cheryl sent this that her boss snapped on the freeway yesterday. Mazel tov! What an excellent way to start out.

CaptureThis photo I love has the very strange fortune of have been taken by me and not by Cheryl for a change. Talk about a face that could launch a thousand ships. I call it “Things are Looking UP!”

kit looking upFinally there’s a nice report on the California Fur trade from Michael Ellis on PBS this morning. Years ago he brought a group to see our beavers and we have swapped emails. Still, he’s not exactly a believer. (Yet) In this report he refers to them as “rats”. Obviously there are about a million things he needs to mention about beavers other than the fur trade. Starting with the drought, erosion and wildlife damage we caused when we wiped them out. But its a nice report, and you should go listen.

Beavers

Michael Ellis looks at how the fabulous fur of the beaver shaped the history of California and the West.


Sterling Massachusetts has a problem. Well a few of them apparently, but one problem in particular is worrying them at the moment. It starts with a B and ends with an EAVERS.

Beavers creating a dam problem on Legate Hill Road

Sterling Conservation Agent Matthew Marro has begun a process to determine who owns the land where drainages have been backed up by beaver dams and causing severe flooding at Kyle Equipment Company at 14 Legate Hill Road.

 Marro noted there have been welldocumented situations involving beavers and dams in the area and that he and other conservation commissioners have personally observed the creatures throughout the season.

Kyle said investigations they personally conducted in the area revealed that the drain basin serviced by a 24-inch diameter pipe located near the far corner of his property is “totally clogged by beavers.” He also noted that the wetland areas near the back of his property also contain two beaver dams which have resulted in a clogged culvert under Route 12.

Apparently Sterling is so certain of its facts that they have declared the phrase welldocumented to be a single word. Not only is that certain. That’s damcertain. All that flooding is obviously the fault of the beavers. Of course they need killing. We just need to find out who pays for it.  This isn’t a complex moral dilemma that upsets us. We’re not worried about who gets killed,  but the thorny problem of who gets billed.

The Kyles insist, however, that the DPW has done all it can to increase the drainage to alleviate the situation. However, something further must be done with the beavers, they said. “It is only going to take anotherth raini stormt bbeforef I hhave watert coming through my shop,” said Sean Kyle. He also pointed out that the paved area behind their shop has been destroyed and floats when the area gets flooded.flooded

The Kyles are apparently SO UPSET that they’re stuttering. I have not changed this copy a fingertip. The paper is accurately quoted in being inaccurate. (I heard a This American Life program report about local newspapers outsourcing their writing to the Philippines. Very very chilling and you should listen someday. As it is, we should probably not be critical of the writing in this article because its clearly not their native language.)

I’d rather be critical of the Selectmen and Public works director who have lived in this town and should know better. They are located 70 miles from Beaver Solutions and Mike Callahan. In less time that it would take him to listen to that TAL episode on his truck radio describing foreign fingers writing our local papers because we’re too cheap to bother with it ourselves, he could come to Sterling with his truck ready to build a culvert fence on those drains and the Kyles need never, ever flood again.

And no beavers would need to be killed.  (Although several infinitives will likely continue to be split.)

_________________________________________________________

Excellent photos this morning from Cheryl’s visit last night. Here are two happily  munching willow near the secondary dam.

satisfied siblings
Satisfied Siblings: by Cheryl Reynolds

And this photo of a kit ponderously chewing. I love the water colors in this. Cheryl says it was a super high tide so mom must have been busy again this morning. There aren’t beavers in the Bahamas I guess, but this sure looks tropical.

kit chewing over beautiful water
Kit chewing close: Photo Cheryl Reynolds

DONATE

TREE PROTECTION

BAY AREA PODCAST

Our story told around the county

Beaver Interactive: Click to view

LASSIE INVENTS BDA

URBAN BEAVERS

LASSIE AND BEAVERS

Ten Years

The Beaver Cheat Sheet

Restoration

RANGER RICK

Ranger rick

The meeting that started it all

Past Reports

November 2024
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
252627282930  

Story By Year

close

Share the beaver gospel!