Category: Beavers elsewhere

GUNGA DAM

heidi08 What's killing beavers now? April 4, 2018

There are two breaking beavers stories that I am NOT going to write about. They both involve beaver predation, which we know happens. I’m fairly familiar with the readers of this site, and these stories only deserve a mention. Hardy curious souls should click on the links to go follow up on your own.

First is some fairly new research on wolf ambushing beaver, the second is just reported this morning of a lynx caught on camera attacking a beaver. Like I say, if you’re interested, by all means follow the links. But come back!

I will just say it’s a hard world out there for a beaver.

Here at beaver central we are more focused on human-beaver problems so I thought you’d want to read about an uninvited beaver on the watery east side of upper Washington.

New beaver dam raises water along North Camano Drive

Suddenly, Siegrid Hall had a pond.

Well, more marsh than pond, courtesy of an industrious beaver that recently moved into her north Camano Island neighborhood.

“We’ve lived here five years and had never had an issue,” Hall said. “Then he showed up a few weeks ago. Suddenly, we see alder trees down that look like sharpened pencils.”

The newest dam appears to be near the Hall’s property on north Camano, where recently the water level nearly crested over the Hall’s driveway and the busy North Camano Drive.

We get in there and rake out the sticks, but the next day a brand new dam will be built,” Currier said. “They’re fast and intelligent and they do a good job building it back up.”

Crews and property owners typically just monitor and manage the water levels by breaking dams and clearing culverts, he said.

Snohomish Conservation District offers options as well. The organization can send a specialist to develop site-specific plans on managing the water, program manager Ryan Williams said. For more information, visit snohomishcd.org/living-with-beavers or call 425-377-7013.

I can’t bring myself to be terribly worried about the fate of these beavers. If there aren’t solutions in that part of the country there unlikely to be available anywhere. Just two nights ago Ben Dittbrenner gave a talk not far from there on living with beavers, and Judy and her husband from Port Moody came down to listen and take him to coffee. The public works website in Sonohomish was one of the original four websites that offered information on flow devices that we relied on in Martinez, so something tells me they’ll work it out.

In the meantime, a burst of inspiration came to me yesterday and this just had to be written. Give it a second to load and look at least the chorus. If you’ve never seen the original you really should.

Gunga dam

“CHANGE ME TOO, INTO A BEAVER”

heidi08 Who's Killing Beavers Now? March 29, 2018

On the Mountains of the Prairie,
On the great Red Pipe-stone Quarry,

But he reappeared triumphant,
And upon his shining shoulders
Brought the beaver, dead and dripping,
Brought the King of all the Beavers.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the song of Hiawatha in 1855 about the tragic love of the native hero of the Ojibwe tribe. Although Longfellow never traveled to Pipestone Minnesota, the region performed the poem in a pageant every year for 60 years. It was a big deal when they stopped. It is the kind of poem you’ve heard parts of recited, usually in very bad talent shows, but never read all the way through.

One of the great mysteries of my beaver life refers to this poem, which I was unaware had an exciting beaver-killing passage and a heroic beaver resurrection. Completely without any awareness of this, I had a collected volume of Longfellow in my living room just because it was a beautiful old book and Longfellow is an author who’s originals I could afford.

A meeting of California National Park service folks somehow happened in that livingroom when I was on the John Muir Association. 10-15 folks I didn’t know and never saw again came in uniform to meet at my table and discuss plans for an upcoming event. Lots and lots of pointed hats, and I might have joked about offering one at the beaver festival silent auction but the conversation was definitely not about beavers..

When the meeting was over I noticed that the pages of my book had been turned to a specific passage detailing Pau-puk-keewis changed into beaver.

“O my friend Ahmeek, the beaver,
Cool and pleasant is the water;
Let me dive into the water,
Let me rest there in your lodges;
Change me, too, into a beaver!”

The book had 400 pages or so. and no one said a word about it or was milling around during the meeting. I never knew whether it was an accident or whether it was done especially for me, and until I read up for this article I really wasn’t sure. Now I think probably one of those rangers had been stationed at pipestone monument and had heard or attended or even recited one of those 60 years of pageants.

Apparently Pipestone isn’t any better at living with beavers today.

Bounty brings in more beavers

Last year was a bad year to be a beaver in Pipestone County, specifically in the northern part of the county.

According to the Pipestone County Highway Department, bounties were paid for 68 beavers that were killed in Rock, Troy and Aetna townships in 2017. There were 47 beavers killed in Rock Township, 11 in Troy and 10 in Aetna.

Township officials said that’s more than in years past and that they’ve typically paid bounties. Troy Township hired someone to trap beavers because there was a beaver dam in the township that was causing water to back up near a road, according to Pete Sietsema, township chair, so that accounts for a higher number there.

Another factor that could be at play is that there was a higher price on the animals’ heads
Some townships have offered a beaver bounty for years to reduce the number of the animals, whose dams can flood roads, ditches and culverts.

Obviously trapping beaver year after year after year isn’t working for Pipestone. They keep spending more money and keep getting more beavers.

I guess they better just do more of it.

From the bottom rose the beavers,
Silently above the surface
Rose one head and then another,
Till the pond seemed full of beavers,
Full of black and shining faces.

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Biohabitats is a American conservation planning and ecological business with about 75 employees operating out of Maryland. They have regional teams all across the US and release a quarterly newsletter called “Leaf litter“. Yesterday the newest issue was send to me by Michael Pollock which is entirely focused on beavers. I’m reprinting their first page here in full so you can see how much information this covers.

Read through the stories and click on the links to follow through to their feature. It’s a meaty issue and there is lots to keep you busy and informed. There is a brief link to this website in the resource section, but I still personally can’t decide whether it’s wonderful not to be mentioned at all or slightly annoying. I’m going to pick wonderful because it means the beaver message has so saturated the nation that they don’t require our voices anymore.

(Although they sure could have used our photos, rather then these tired old tropes which we’ve seen a million times!)

In This Issue

In building dams, beaver naturally achieve many of the goals we strive to accomplish in our conservation and ecological restoration work. Could this animal be one of our most powerful partners? [Read more]

Expert Q&A: Dr. Michael Pollock

When it comes to beaver as a tool for restoration, this guy wrote the book on it. Literally. Meet one of the principal authors of the Beaver Restoration Guidebook. [Read more]

Expert Q&A: Caroline Nash

This Ph.D. student is part of an interdisciplinary team of researchers that is providing important information and a bit of a reality check for those interested in beaver-related restoration. [Read more]

Perspectives

A restoration practitioner, a grape grower, a non-profit director, a rancher, an academic, and a regional government scientist share the rewards and challenges of working and coexisting with beaver. [Read more]

Beaver Basics

For those unfamiliar with this furry, ecological engineer, we provide some simple facts about its appearance, distribution, and ecological impact. [Read more]

Non-Profit Spotlight: Devon Wildlife Trust

Jessica Hardesty Norris shines our Non-Profit Spotlight on the Devon Wildlife Trust, the organization behind England’s first wild beaver re-introduction project. [Read more]

Book Review: Once They Were Hats: In Search of the Mighty Beaver by Frances Backhouse

Joe Berg reviews author Frances Backhouse’s fascinating exploration of humanity’s evolving relationship with the beaver. [Read more]

REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED DAMP

heidi08 Who's blaming beavers now? March 12, 2018

Once in a great while you come across a story that suddenly makes everything worthwhile. All the hard work and early mornings, every ridiculous nutria photo, all the awkward city planning, suddenly dissipates while one shining headline puts the entire thing in perspective, leaving you trembling with joy and purpose down to you very toes and fingertips.

Canadian trapper survives brutal sexual assault by 200-pound beaver

A Canadian trapper claims he has survived a brutal sexual assault by what he calls the “biggest beaver he has ever seen.” Bill O’Connor, 63, was checking his beaver traps near Lake Winnipeg when a large bear-like creature attacked him out of nowhere.

O’Connor, who first thought he was being mauled by a small bear or wolverine, soon realized it was, in fact, a very large-sized beaver“I had never seen a beaver of this size in my entire life,” he told local reporters.

The beaver, apparently bruised by one his traps, was extremely aggressive and even managed to knock the sixty-three-year-old man unconscious before he awoke minutes later.

“I woke up, my face in the snow and gasping for [sic] hair. The beaver was crushing me with its weight and doing a humping motion on my head and neck while making a strange guttural sound. It must’ve weighed at least 200 pounds,” he recalls.

Moments later, the large-sized semiaquatic rodent eventually ejaculated on O’Connor’s head and neck, before leaving the area.

“I had warm beaver semen all over my hair, face, eyes and mouth, but man was I glad to be alive,” he said, visibly grateful.

‘Wiping tears’. I’m sorry, are you serious? That photo is too much. The violated trapper pointing indignantly. I would say this is parody but of course we’ve read crazier allegations from trappers all the time.. Remember the one in Yellow Knife that said they could bounce off their tails like a pogo stick and lunge at you?

.

I have to ask though. What does beaver semen even look like? I mean, how did you recognize it? And 200 lbs? Beavers mate in the water and the females all have a built in a flat leathery chastity belt so rape is kinda out of the question. To do something that complicated almost requires consent.

The fact that your story takes place on land is just ONE of the reasons I don’t believe it. I’m going to call it a STORY. And a funny one at that.

Conservation officer, Tom McGreary, says visitors at the nearby Kinwow Bay Park Reserve have reported multiple sightings of an unusually large-sized beaver in the area. “We have also had several reports in the area by local residents of excessively large beavers but until now it had been more of a local legend,” he said when reached by phone.

“Beavers are usually not an aggressive species unless they feel threatened or are injured, although sexual predation on other mammals, especially humans, is unheard of,” he adds.

Beavers continue to grow throughout their lives and adult specimens weighing over 25 kg (55 lb) are not uncommon. The largest specimen ever recorded was captured in Red Lake, Ontario, in 1897 and weighed an impressive 107 kg (237 lb).

Wow this story even has the obligatory warden quote saying beavers aren’t normally like that. Hahahaha! Is there anything else these professionals do besides answer ridiculous questions from reporters? Did anyone have the nerve to honestly ask this question out loud?

And HEY equal time, where are the otter rape stories? Inquiring minds want to know.

Gosh that is one hilarious story. There is almost nothing that can top this allegation. I mean I don’t expect to EVER see anything as outrageous or as hard to believe as a trapper saying he was raped by a beaver.

Raise your hand if you’ve spotted the problem.

“BEAVER LIVES MATTER”

heidi08 Who's Killing Beavers Now? March 3, 2018

I weep for you,’ the Walrus said:

I deeply sympathize.’

With sobs and tears he sorted out

Those of the largest size,

I don’t want to give you the wrong impression. I mean just because there are more bright spots on the beaver horizon I don’t want you to think we’re in the sunshine yet. Lots of beaver trapping goes on in every state. Each morning I wade through piles of articles about beavers who need trapping. I only pick a select few to write about because they are special.

Especially bad. Or Especially good.

Four beavers lethally trapped in Mombasha Park

MONROE — After the Monroe Town Board voted to call upon a licensed outdoorsman to manage damage done by beavers at Mombasha Park, four beavers were lethally trapped this week. According to Town of Monroe Supervisor Tony Cardone, beavers had cut down more than 100 trees, creating a potential erosion issue, which would compromise the stability of the baseball outfield at the park.

When the beavers cut down the trees, they also create punji sticks, which are stumps formed in the shape of a sharpened pencil top. Cardone said the sharpened stumps create a potential safety hazard for people who wander off the walking trail through the park.

“Right now, he (Corrado) feels that (four) is a good number to manage them,” Cardone said. “He thought there was anywhere between eight and 12 beavers in the lodge. So he pulled all his traps out and he’s just going to visually observe the area on an ongoing basis. He is allowed to trap through April 7 if the need arises.”

Ahh David. Punji sticks notwithstanding, your great ecological concern for the well-being of this family brings tears to my eyes. Just killing off half the family members! How thoughtful. Here’s a thought, but when you come for my family can I pick which four?

But the plan has received backlash from a number of Monroe residents. Longtime Monroe resident Sharon Scheer started an online petition called “BEAVERS LIVES MATTER!,” which as of Thursday, had more than 470 signatures The petition suggests that the damage from the beavers is not severe enough to warrant killing four beavers.

“Can we not try to live alongside of wildlife?” the petition reads. “Must we eradicate 1 entire family a den! (4) in such cruel methods? Can’t we work with them and start a new trend to soften our approach on wildlife?”

In an email sent to The Photo News, Scheer said that “the chewing of trees will still continue and the killing of beavers will continue in a vicious cycle.” A far more practical and humane response is to deter the beavers from chewing the trees, she said.

In her petition, Scheer suggests three non-lethal ways to deal with the situation, including an acrylic paint mix with commercial grade sand painted on base of trees as a deterrent, metal meshing surrounding trees at their base and planting beaver-friendly trees and bushes.

“My point is tread lightly; they are genius engineers and vital part of ecosystem,” Scheer said in the petition.

Sharon Sheer, you may not know it yet, but you just made friends for life in Northern California. I’m thinking we need to sit somewhere and share a beer. You obviously saved half this beaver family, by putting pressure on the council to act like they were just ‘managing’ the population not killing all the beavers. If the world had TWICE as many of you beavers would be much better off.

Here’s how it plays out in Calgary..

When Calgary Has Beaver Problems, This is Who They Call

Local trapper Bill Abercrombie has been trapping in Alberta for nearly 50 years. His company is regularly hired by the city to remove beavers where they are causing problems.

“They cut down all the trees, they will dam up water courses and flood areas, quite often they’ll do things like move into the sewer system,” says Abercrombie. “If we’re going to have beavers coexisting with us, we actually have to take responsibility to [manage these issues] humanely and respectfully.”

Abercrombie says trapping discretely in such close proximity to people is the most challenging part of working in the city. Beavers can also become aggressive when caught on land and their long teeth can inflict serious wounds. Abercrombie says everyone on his crew has had a close call with a beaver and he advises Calgarians to keep a close eye on their four-legged companions at the city’s riverbanks. “If a dog is in the wrong place at the wrong time, he’s going to get it,” says Abercrombie. “Beavers are big; they’re strong. There’s no dog that’s a match for a beaver.

Is there a voice of reason in the city? Someone who sees can ‘see the beavers for the trees?’

City of Calgary Parks Ecologist Tanya Hope says while beavers can cause conflict, they also benefit Calgary’s urban ecosystems. Their dams create pond habitat for other species and even reduce the impact of small flood events. “Outside of humans they’re the only other animals that can change the way their landscape works,” says Hope. “We definitely want to have them here.”

To reduce deforestation and flooding Hope wraps protective wire around tree trunks and installs pond-levelling pipes through beaver dams. But the beavers help by eliminating non-native species, as well. “By carefully selecting which trees we leave unwired the beavers can actually increase the health of our forests,” says Hope.

When such strategies fail, however, the city turns to Abercrombie. He and his team remove the rodents using lethal traps placed underwater to ensure beavers are the only animals targeted. According to Abercrombie, his company traps about 50 beavers a year in Calgary.

Alright. At least someone knows that beavers have value and tries to protect the trees in other ways. I guess beavers aren’t without hope. But honestly, if you know that beavers matter, you should know how to protect trees and you should do it right.

It’s not rocket science.