‘This is the good part’: Three beavers released back to Sacramento park after diesel spill

Three beavers are back home at a pond in Tanzanite Community Park in Sacramento. The animals spent weeks in rehabilitation after a “malfunction” caused diesel to be released onto a concrete loading dock and then into a storm drain.

On Thursday afternoon, officials with the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response and the Oiled Wildlife Care Network were on hand for the homecoming.

The three female beavers were released from blanketed crates and – much to the delight to the caregivers on hand for the release – quickly made their way back into the water.

“We always joke, we wish they’d wave back at you, but no, they’re ready to get away from us and ultimately, that’s really what you want from them is to be back, back in their home,” said Dr. Jamie Sherman, a veterinarian with the Oiled Wildlife Care Network.

I can’t figure out how to embed the video but go watch the little clip of the release by clicking on the headline. It’s sweet. For now I’ll just make due with those photos of beavers we have in towels from that rehab in Utah 9 years ago. They are still some of my all time favorites.

Sherman said once the beavers were taken into their care, they were sedated and given a full physical examination to evaluate their health and to begin the process of removing diesel from their fur. Over the next few weeks, she said, they focused on cleaning the coats, helping the animals rehydrate and gain weight and prepare to be released back to their home.

“(It’s) one of the best parts of this, and to bring all these people together who have invested so much time, so much effort, and so much care to be able to see these animals go back to the wild is incredible,” Sherman said.

After the spill, six beavers were taken into rehabilitation, according to Greg McGowan, of the Office of Spill Prevention and Response, within the Department of Fish and Wildlife. McGowan said two beavers are still being treated, and one died.

McGowan said after a spill, the challenge is not only to get the oil off the fur but to get the animals warm and able to regulate their own temperatures again.

“Anytime we’re out here doing our jobs, we feel like we’re fighting the good fight, but there is a part of it that’s less exciting, less positive when you’re dealing with animals that are suffering and struggling,” he said. “This is the good part, seeing them clean and happy, and return to their house.”

Well, we’re glad that you can do this job and take care of our beavers and wildlife. But I’d be happier if there weren’t diesel spills in the middle of town that ran straight into our creeks. That would make me REAL happy.