Category: Beaver Rehabilitation

A collection of articles and videos on rearing orphaned kits.

MOVE OVER RUBBER DUCKY

heidi08 Beaver Rehabilitation January 31, 2021

It’s Sunday, and this was a helluva week. I finally got my 87 year old mother a vaccine appt. and I’m hopeful we’ll even be able to get her a second dose. Time to relax, unwind and snuggle up with the very cutest beaver video you are ever likely to see. This one from Florida.

Beaver ‘resting comfortably’ after rescue from water treatment facility

A beaver was rescued from a storm water treatment facility in Florida after finding itself trapped and disorientated. Wildlife rescuers lifted the 20lb beaver to safety on Tuesday. Brian Weinstein, from St Francis Wildlife Association, and volunteer Larry Folsom used a long catch pole and net to lift the animal out of the water.

Trapped beaver! It’s not enough that beavers in Florida have to contend with ALLIGATORS, rotten heat and mosquitoes. Now they have to get rescued from water treatment plants too!

The animal welfare association said: “The beaver is exhausted after its ordeal but resting comfortably.

“It will be released in safe beaver habitat on Upper Lake Lafayette when it regains its strength and fur quality with the natural oils that provide water resistance.”

The local fire department was called to the rescue, alongside animal control officers. After it was rescued, the beaver was transported to the St Francis Wildlife Association rehabilitation centre in Quincy, Florida.

When I was a kid growing up my sisters used to say that when things were cuter than you could possibly stand they gave you ‘teethgrits‘ because the ensuing cries of adoration they summoned made you clench your jaw so hard they ground together.

If you have no idea what that feels like get ready to find out.

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You’re welcome.

BEAVE GETS FAMOUS FOR THE WRONG THING

Since his debut on NPR, Beave has gotten more famous. Now his number of followers on TIK TIK has erupted and he found his way onto People magazine of all places. For sure he is not a “people” but try telling him that.

And might as well know, if you haven’t tried wrapping presents with a beaver on your lap, you can hardly say you’re in the holiday spirit.

Meet Beave, the Internet’s Beloved Beaver Who’s Making It Impossible for His Owner to Wrap Gifts

The precious animal has gone viral on TikTok in adorable videos taken by his owner, Nancy Coyne, who is rehabilitating Beave at her residence in New York’s Hudson Valley,

according to NPR.Beave’s Instagram and TikTok accounts, the latter of which has racked up more than 835k followers, features entertaining footage of the animal constantly grabbing things around the house and adding them to a “dam pile.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Do You Know Beave (@beaverbabyfurrylove)

“‘What’s it like to rehab a beaver?’ Well, apparently you can’t wrap Christmas presents when he needs attention,” Coyne captioned the video. “Beaver kits have a strong need for socialization and bonding time. A STRONG need.”

To which we at Worth A Dam would say of course! Who would bother wrapping presents when they have the greatest present of all sitting on their lap? Beavers are the very best christmas present the earth ever received. One that keeps on giving year after year. That doesn’t happen very often.

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A post shared by Do You Know Beave (@beaverbabyfurrylove)

Well well well, you’re going to have some cleaning up to do. And some advocacy to do. “Beave” has made you famous Nancy, and probably generated thousands of dollars in donations to your rehab agency. It’s time you give something back to her future and to all her relatives that. god willing, you never meet.

The next time someone sticks a camera in your face you should talk about why beavers matter, how they could save a drying planet and prevent the seventh extinction. Then feel free to show how cute they are again.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Do You Know Beave (@beaverbabyfurrylove)

Just so we’re clear. Tell your 800k followers that his family members were killed like millions of other beavers for causing an inconvenience, and if they were allowed to stick around beavers could improve the planet.

A BEAVER ON TIK TOK IS WORTH TWO IN THE BUSH

heidi08 Beaver Rehabilitation December 21, 2020

Happy Solstice!

It’s a fine winter Monday with a not so fine no-burn warning, but I have the christmas cheer you’ll need today. How about a famous beaver on Tik Tok reported by NPR? There is almost nothing about this story I don’t like. Enjoy.

Meet Beave, The Internet’s Most Famous Beaver

Leave it to a beaver to find new ways to build dams.

That much was revealed by Nancy Coyne, who’s rehabilitating a beaver in her home in New York’s Hudson Valley. Coyne’s videos of Beave the beaver on TikTok have quickly racked up millions of views.

Beave has taken to building dams out of whatever’s available around the house.

@beaverbabyfurryloveBeaves not damming in his pond yet. He’s to young. He does this in the house because it’s his safe place. Not yet with sticks either. ##fyp ♬ original sound – Beave

What I find fascinating about this story, and there’s a lot to love, is that Beave’s favorite place to dam is open doorways. When you think of it the doorway is the narrowest part of passage in your home. And beavers like to dam the narrowest part of the stream. So I guess it’s instinctive.

What do you think instinct feels like when you’re having it? Does it just seem like a really good idea you just thought of?

Coyne, who is a wildlife rehabilitator with Raising the Wild, makes clear that Beave is not a pet. She’s raising him for about two years because she suspects he was orphaned.

“I received a call, as I normally do for a lot of rehabs, and the woman said that she had found a baby beaver on the side of the road,” Coyne says. “So I said, ‘Of course you can bring it to me.’ “

When the woman arrived, “she was carrying this little box. So I opened up the box. And sure enough, there was a little baby beaver, no bigger than the size of a russet potato.”

Coyne’s task now is to help Beave learn what he needs to know so he can reenter the wild when he’s ready.

Things like swimming under the ice:

@beaverbabyfurryloveBeave was doing really good swimming under the ice. He was a little skeptical at first but figured out how to navigate. ##VivaCleanHacks ##fyp ♬ original sound – Beave

Look at how good he’s managing his life skills? She’s doing a pretty great job as surrogate. The one thing I disagree with is her thought on what it means when the kit whines. Being around children all my life I of course started out assuming that whining means the kit in question wanted something. Then when I actually watched our kits sampling tasting treats I learned otherwise.

When one kit has a branch and the other kit wants it, it’s not the one who wants it that makes that noise. It’s the one who HAS it. I don’t think it means “I want this”.

It means “I really like this. It’s delicious. And please don’t ask me to share!!!”

@beaverbabyfurryloveFor the followers that requested Beave just eating Kale. Enjoy! ##CancelTheNoise ##Catchphrases ##TheWildsChallenge ##OOTD ##fyp ##wildanimals ##wildlife ♬ original sound – Beave

If you want to thank Nancy for her help and donate to support other patients, you can make your donation here: Her account is being followed by millions and it’s a pretty great way to promote interest in our favorite animal. It seems like a pretty good place to share a little christmas spirit.

@beaverbabyfurryloveWhat makes Beaver Rehab so different than our other rehabs is the requirement for contact and nurturing. ##DiceRoll ##OPIObsessed ##SmallBusiness ##fyp

♬ original sound – Beave

Go look at her account for more fun videos and have yourself a merry little start to Christmas week,

MAKING DEALS WITH BEAVERS

heidi08 Attitudes towards beavers, Beaver Rehabilitation, Flow Device Installed August 23, 2020

Just about 15 miles south of our friends in Port Moody, another flow device has been installed to keep the beavers and allow them to continue helping the salmon. frogs and wildlife. This one is is in the Delta Nature Reserve.

Beaver pond leveller to reduce Cougar Creek flooding in Delta Nature Reserve

Delta Nature Reserve walkers and cyclists may notice a strange new contraption in Lower Cougar Creek, alongside the trail between the second and third boardwalk entrances. It’s called a beaver pond leveller, and it’s a joint pilot project of Cougar Creek Streamkeepers, Burns Bog Conservation Society, City of Delta, EBB Consulting and Pacific Salmon Foundation.

Hopefully the beavers won’t notice the contraption, but will happily continue building their dam, unaware that the leveller limits their pond to a safe height that doesn’t flood the trail.

Of course the beavers will notice. They’re water accountants that spend every day re-enumerating their essentials. The question of course is whether they can live with the fact that their pond has a hole in it that can never be fixed. Is the water level still deep enough or should they start over some where else? That’s what the beavers are deciding now in their little beaver meetings. Is it livable or Not livable. And that depends on you.

Though beavers are a nuisance, with their tree-cutting and dam-building, they are also a keystone species for healthy wetlands and salmon streams. A pond leveller is not maintenance-free, but it’s hoped this one will reduce the amount of effort the City of Delta has to spend on dismantling beaver dams to prevent flooding.

Hmm. Don’t sugar coat it was flattery. I think someone didn’t educate the press enough, or the participants. I’m reminded of that memorable scene in Alice through the Looking Glass.

“I don’t like the look of it at all,” said the King: “however, it may kiss my hand if it likes.”

Not only is the natural floodplain a safety-valve for protecting built areas from floodwaters, it’s also a vibrant and healthy wetland habitat that nurtures fish, amphibians, birds and – yes — those industrious beavers.

Well yes. Beavers will make your wetlands beautiful. And you have given yourself a chance of improving them. I’m not exactly sure how hopeful to be about the effort, but it looks like you gave it a good try anyway.

Our little beaver patient at Suisun Wildlife was on their Facebook page yesterday, along with a nice shoutout to us for consulting. They are working on a funding campaign for him and need your help. Go here to donate and make sure you mention we sent you!

Last week we received this baby Beaver, estimated at 1-2 weeks old, for care. An attempt was made to reunite it with the parents, but they could not be found. We reached out to our friends the beaver specialists at Worth A Dam in Martinez, who assisted us with their years of experience with beavers – we thank them. They put us in touch with an expert on beaver care in New York state, who advised against another attempt to reunite.

Our wildlife veterinarian, Dr. Jackie Gai, is checking the beaver’s condition and performing tests to determine its health. Of course, it is unusual for one so young to be out of the den and away from the parents, so we are concerned about how this may have happened.

The baby is eating, eliminating, and swimming well. We are having special beaver formula overnighted to feed it, and if you would like to donate toward the testing and formula, we would greatly appreciate your help! We will keep you posted on the progress of this adorable and special animal – wish us well!

Donate to Suisun Marsh Natural History Assoction

US 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization
Thanks for helping this little beaver along the way. Stay safe out there if you’re near fires or anywhere below the sky today.

BEAVER FRIENDS TO THE NORTH

heidi08 Attitudes towards beavers, Beaver Rehabilitation August 19, 2020

Last evening I heard from Amy Hall our chalk artist at the festival that she was on standby for evacuation. This morning Napa and Sonoma are burning out of control. There are so many fires so close together they’re just calling them the lightening complex fires. The entire area from Fort Ross to the Russian River has been evacuated. Think about that for a moment. That means Monte Rio, Jenner, Guerneville, All those windy river roads. Our own volunteers Leslie and Rick and the stalwart beaver defenders Kate Lundquist and Brock Dolman. They are all evacuated. At a time when it barely feels safe to stay in a hotel for fear of touching the wrong doorknob, Californian’s are left with shelters like fairgrounds and high schools. And if they escape the flames they might not escape the virus.

It’s hard to imagine what there is let to burn after the big fires in 2017. I hope our friends at Safari West are safe. I know they’re on tenterhooks.

It’s hard to remember, but before I got Amy’s email last evening I was in a state of beaver rapture because Suisun Wildlife (that also burned this year) called me after getting a tiny baby beaver patient from Vacaville. A dog apparently found and retrieved him at the off leash part of lagoon park. A friend brought him in for care on Saturday and he was subsisting on squirrel formulae while they wait for their express order of beaver formulae.

He weighs in at around 600 grams which is about 1.3 lbs and probably a few weeks old. She says 7 inches from nose to tail. Amazingly, given their location, it is the first time they have had a baby beaver in 40 years. They tried going back to the site and looking for its family, but gave up on that idea after talking with our advisor Cher Button-Dobemeir of NY. While we chatted about next steps the rehab director said to me, “Could he be any cuter? He’s just smiling all the time.”

To which I said, very reasonably, No. No they could not.

Cheryl called later and talked strategy with them and I think the plan is now to build an enclosure and at least keep him until he is big enough to hang out with the three older kits currently being rehabbed in Sonoma. He will need to be 2 years old and gave a buddy before he can be released on his own and in the meantime it’s good to know that he is in good hands.

I’m sorry that he’s spent a few strange nights alone though. We have a beaver fur coat someone donated and may try and get it to them so they can snuggle. Check your couch cushions right now and donate any spare change to Suisun Wildlife Recue Center which is talking on a pretty big job. Monique the director write me yesterday and said. cheerfully.

“I can tell you I’ve been doing this for 40 years and that is the cutest animal I have ever seen. We really appreciate your and Cheryl’s help, this is one to get right!”

To which we could only reply. Yup.