UPDATE: 10:30 – Napatopia’s fish and Wildlife spoke with the CDFW lab investgations unit who does want a necropsy but wants the experts at UCD to do it. She told me to get water samples with the creek. And they would cover costs. So Jean’s picking up the kit now, jon got samples and we’ll leave move things to UCD capable hands. More later.
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Nae man can tether time nor tide Robert BurnsThe critical tide that ravaged the beaver habitat last night in Alhambra Creek came with awful word that another kit was sick. This one was picked up in beaver park a little after five, where he climbed up staggering. An unknown kindly soul took the beaver to Lindsay which was standing by since we had gotten a tip earlier. The kit was so weak he was easily picked up and handled as you can see in the photos here from an onlooker’s cell phone.
This morning Lindsay will find out if Fish and Game wants a necropsy, which they would handle themselves, or if we need to bring it to UC Davis and pay for it. Jean has nobly offered to drive the sad miles and take care of it if she can. Last night we had an unexpected beaver wake at the water’s edge, Cheryl, Lory, Jon and myself watching to see what others survived. Moses came down for a while. We saw healthy two year olds and Junior, and maybe dad, but no sign of kits or mom. Meanwhile the tide covered the old dam, the bank, the walls, making our familiar pond seem suddely strange and menacing.
We were a somber group.
Later that night I thought of how happy we were to have four kits such a short time ago, and what a freakish blessing it had seemed. I thought of the distance we had traveled from giddy delight to grim realism to panic. And I thought of our lovely beavers and how much hope and joy they had given us over the years.
I have written everyone I can think of asking for help. Maybe you can think of some others.
