Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to be as cute as orphanly possible so that we can raise enough money to keep you around. Yes, it’s sad that your mother and father died. And that beavers in general have such human-fraught lives every day. And it’s even sad that wildlife groups have to pretend that beaver ‘orphans’ are natural and happen by chance. It’s all sad.
Work that.
It’s obviously THAT TIME AGAIN when news stations implore for help with raising baby beavers who were mysteriously ‘orphaned’ by their parents. (Gosh, beaver parents must be irresponsible, because they seem to ‘capriciously abandon’ kits a lot.) I’m sure the responsible media wouldn’t mention if parents were ruthlessly and indifferently killed every time someone’s subdivision or highway was inconvenienced, right?
Here’s a slightly more cheery seasonal sighting. This young disperser thinks that walking on the shore would be easier than swimming the rapids. Nice footage of two of Cheryl’s very favorite animals.
Last night we saw at least five family members, two coming from up above the marina vista bridge and two or three coming from above the footbridge. It was one of those days when beavers appeared from so many places at once they were hard to keep track of. I told Lory it reminded me of this cartoon: We were craning our necks at every turn struggling to catch a glimpse of teats that would assure of us a new generation – no luck on that front yet. Their impressive dam reassures us that new family members are being protected. But I personally can’t understand why the 2 year olds haven’t dispersed yet if there are new kits in the mix. We will just have to be patient, and give the beavers time to show us the answer at the leisure.
Entering the water – Photo Cheryl Reynolds
Speaking of things I hate to do, here is another doozey. Not talking about something really, really exciting. I mean even if there’s a perfectly good reason not to talk about it. And you promised people you respect very much. I remember being a child and going christmas shopping for my mom with my older sisters. They would sternly warn me as to the pact of secrecy and I would promise over and over again not to tell what we got her and explain that I was older now are reassure them I understood. And off we would go shopping to Cost Plus or Penny’s and pick out whatever pretty trinket I could afford.
But as soon as we came back I would burst open like a confetti balloon and explain how wonderful the earrings or vase that we had picked out were going to be. Even before they were wrapped I had to tell her. It was just too exciting. The thought of having my mother’s undiluted attention for the entire twenty seconds it would take to deliver the message was just too much for my little brain to resist. My sisters would be furious. And swear I was never going with them next time. I would feel horrible and immature. But the next year the whole thing would happen all over again.
Now that was a long time ago. Why bring up this old story?
Worth A Dam was visited by Canada and the Finnish Laplands yesterday. The first was a request from the CBC to use our ‘beaver crossing’ photo in an article. The second was a facebook contact about a beaver sighting in Finland, where they weren’t supposed to be and has scientists Duncan Haley very excited. We are a multi-national beaver operation apparently.
I was just happy we got an actual request to use the image. Much better than simply stealing it.Apparently beavers are on the move all over. This report just turned up in Louisiana,
Of course we know that these beavers are dispersers and immature two year-olds looking for their own territory. We see it every year, although we never know exactly when it happens. Sometime around February or March. I assumed it had already happen with our 2013 yearlings. That would mean our population is down to three. But last night Jean saw FOUR beavers. Which means we have to review our figures and rethink.
In all the years we’ve been watching beavers we’ve had one that didn’t disperse, a 2010 kit that stuck around for years afterwards. I often referred to him as the Useless Bookend because he was the exact same size as a very helpful kit who dispersed according to schedule. Do we have another UB? And Jean saw Mom, Dad, Jr and the UB? OR do we have a couple UBS and the kit wasn’t even seen? Or did all three stick around and Mom and Dad left? I’m soo confused. Here are some photos she snatched with her iPhone.
Of course it especially matters because its KIT TIME. The very best time of the year. Check out the photo that Rusty managed to snap yesterday at the Napa Beavers. Looks like Napa’s got kits. I wonder about Martinez?
Which makes it just the right time for this video I made with Moses’ footage years ago. There is only one Heidi Clip in the entire thing. Can you find it?
The Beaver: the most powerful animal in the world, takes the first plunge in the 2015 Winter Speaker Series hosted by the Hastings Stewardship Council and sponsored by the Hastings Prince Edward Land Trust. Join acclaimed naturalist Michael Runtz on January 29 in Ivanhoe for an entertaining and visually stunning presentation. Beavers are known as either annoying pests or ecosystem heroes. Behind this dual reputation lies an animal that deserves more than just the status of “Canada’s National Animal.” Beavers are relentless hydraulic engineers that benefit many animals, plants and humans. Michael Runtz will present insights and images of these remarkable creatures in their natural habitats, based largely on his soon-to-be released book, Dam Builders: the natural history of beavers and their ponds.
Every year, over 2,000 people sign up for Michael’s Natural History course, televised from Carleton University. But nowhere does he feel more at home than in the natural world itself-howling with the elusive wolf, digging out salamanders from under rotting logs, or luring rutting moose with his skillful calls. In The Beaver: the most powerful animal in the world, Michael’s photographs disclose a world seldom seen: the intimate habitat of the beaver.
Ooh I want to be there! Don’t you? I guess it’s a little far to drive to Ottawa for a Thursday night lecture, but hopefully some of our beaver friends can attend. It’s not thaaaaaaaat far from New York or Vermont, so maybe one of you can hop over and tell us all about it?
In the mean time the world is firmly committed to its stupidity because now the Arizona misfire has been picked up by the AP and ABC:
A giant beaver is on the mend after getting captured near a Phoenix-area lake this week.
The beaver drew the attention of joggers and onlookers in recent weeks at Tempe Town Lake because of its more than 40-pound size. Wildlife workers captured the animal with a net this week and took it to the Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center, where the beaver will stay until it gets healthy again and is released back into the wild. The animal was lethargic when it came in.
SERIOUSLY? This is an Associated Press story now? Castoroides in Arizona? No wonder one reads political stories that are completely BOGUS when the unexamined beaver lie can withstand every temptation to factcheck. Let me make this simple for you. Just because joggers are surprised doesn’t mean that the facts are surprising. Passers-by are not beaver experts. If a team of wildlife biologists seem surprised then you MIGHT be onto something,
Sheesh.
Onto the surprising. In case any one wonders about our meeting yesterday email me for a full report. In summary I will just say that it went really well, that there were three times as many professionals as I expected, that Jeff and Jack contributed mightily, and that everyone was eager to get copies of the beaver manual I had prepared.
Oh and the California Department of Fish And Wildlife region 2 now has plenty of beaver stickers.
Finally, somber condolences to our brave beaver friends in Napa who discovered a dead beaver yesterday. Most likely their remaining kit. Worth A Dam and all Martinez knows how they feel and we offer sympathies and our warmest hopes that the coming spring brings little flat-tailed new life to the beaver pond. It’s a hard life for beavers. And the people who watch them.
I love her, in the springtimeAnd I love her in the fall,But last night, on the back porchI loved her best of all!
These shocking lyrics reflecting the moral depravity of our youth were published in 1923, some 89 years ago, before video games and ‘R’ movies. Maybe the fact that our house had already been around for a quarter of a century before the song was recorded had something to do with why, when I went to see the beavers last night, this was the soundtrack I heard in my head.
You see, our kit, (the 2014) model, has been living at Ward Street since August. And I’ve been getting more and more worried about his truant little runaway self. I talked with our experts, who had not seen it before but told me not to worry, advice impossible to follow. Beavers are very social animals, and they need face time with their parents learning beaver things for upwards of 24 months before they’re ready to hitch off on their own.
So guess what I saw from the footbridge last night, with Lory and Jon?
Our twentieth kit, climbing on mom’s tail, crunching on snacks, with 2 or three other beavers! (Maybe even dad?) Swimming, chewing, whining and acting like his little kitself again! I can’t tell you how much lighter our three moods were as we walked eventually back to our cars. The beaver family is together and everything’s right with the world.
Now that we’re all in good moods, I will show you this treat that I stumbled upon yesterday. Look who has a new website! Now there are three great beaver resources to share with folks who want new ways to solve problems!
We are a company dedicated to protecting our land and infrastructure, as well as allowing for creative remedies that improve habitats and end wasteful killing and spending. Our technology and practices are state-of-the-art, and have been employed domestically as well as internationally to mitigate the growing problems presented by the beaver population.
Finally! Skip Lisle’s website has hit the internet(s) running! Complete with great information and awesome photos showing off his skill. Go explore the sight, its lots of fun. I couldn’t be happier, although it was a little surprising to find this:
Skip Lisle offers that rare combination of “can-do” competence, creativity, and courtesy. He ably tamed our beavers with promptness and professionalism. Our California town, Martinez, still fondly remembers the man from Vermont, and his solution to save our Downtown!
Mark Ross
Vice Mayor
Martinez, California, USA
A testimonial from Mark Ross and nothing whatsoever from Worth A Dam? I suppose a vice mayor is slightly better advertising than a child psychologist, but it’s silly to overlook the beavers’ de facto press secretary. Well, the cat’s outta the bag now, I made sure everyone saw this yesterday, its on our beaver links, and in the future I will make sure that everyone knows your skills have a great website to promote them!
Too much good news?Guess what arrived in the mail yesterday. Approval from the Martinez Community Foundation for our grant application for the festival VIII art project! They paid 100% of the amount requested. No fooling, money from Martinez, for the beaver festival. I’m still pinching myself.
Thank you Martinez Community Foundation for helping us teach children about ecosystems at the beaver festival! And thank you artist FRO Butler who will be doing the lion’s share of the work, prepping and painting the canvas, purchasing the materials, and supervising the eager artists. I can’t wait till the whole thing comes together and we can use it at our displays in the future!
A giant beaver is on the mend after getting captured near a Phoenix-area lake this week.
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