River otters and beavers are coexisting in a Sonoma creek

Sometimes it’s a case of mistaken identity, a river otter misidentified as a beaver – or the other way around – but both are here in Sonoma and living in close proximity to one another.

“If I had a dime for every time an otter was misidentified as a beaver I would not have to raise funds for my project,” said Megan Isadore, co-founder and executive director of the River Otter Ecology Project.

Photos of North American River otter provided to the Index-Tribune for a story about a beaver dam in Sonoma misidentified the animal as beaver. Isadore and others correctly identified the critter in the photo.

Nice work Megan. I appreciate the value of going to the experts. And I’m really glad the reporter contacted Megan and myself. But is it me, or does she get more of a respectful introduction?

“It’s a very common mistake,” said Heidi Perryman, beaver advocate of Worth a Dam, a non-profit organization dedicated to maintaining beavers in Martinez.

She said the two animals are found in similar habitat, but it’s not because they seek one another’s company.

“They are not best friends,” Perryman said. “They are like neighbors; neighbors who don’t really get along.”

Otters are carnivores, she explained, and will take a beaver’s baby (called “kit”) so beavers will protect their young and chase away otters.

Worth a Dam provides identification help on its website. Otters have long, sleek bodies compared to a beaver’s rounder frame. Beavers can weigh about twice as much as an otter. Otters are white in color around their muzzle with a lot of whiskers. Their tales are quite different, too. Where an otter tail starts wide at the back end it tapers into a point, whereas a beaver tail is flat, like a paddle.

Megan’s the executive director and I’m an advocate? ROEP gets a hyperlink and a funding plea and we get a mention? Did I bring this on myself? Did I speak too informally and not give my title?Sheesh. Always a bridesmaid and never a bride. I got some email the other day asking if I was still the founder and director of Worth A Dam. I couldn’t help it. I had to snork.

Yes, I’m still the director but not the founder anymore..

Perryman is upset that the agency referred to the hole as a “notch.”

“You don’t ‘notch’ with a chainsaw,” she said. “You notch a dam with a rake or a pair of clippers.”

She said it’s difficult to get agreement on what “notch” really means. “Ripping out the dam, even if that’s what they did, it’s not a problem for the beavers. They’re not looking for retirement.”

Well that sounds like me at least. The onery advocate. There should be a movie.

“In terms of the long-term plan, we will discuss it with our biologist, and develop a long-term plan,” which could include a pond leveler.

Cutting holes in the dam will not solve the problem of bypassing water, experts said. Beavers will just continue to fix whatever hole is cut in the dam.

Dugan said the agency installed a wildlife camera near the dam last week. They will monitor the dam, creek and beaver activity to help them plan for a long-term solution.

On the Sonoma Ecology Center Facebook page is a video, taken in July, of a beaver at work on a tree:

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Ooh I guess the water level has changed a little bit up that way! It sure makes you realize how handy it is for beavers when ponds flood. They can reach up much higher and get all kinds of access to things they never reached before.

Well, faintly wounded egos aside we are VERY happy that the reporter Anne Ernst followed up on this Christmas story, and that beavers may benefit from better attention being paid to their existence. We are glad too, that my video came in handy. And lived up to its name. This website is so cavernous now its been a while since I visited it although years ago the forest service said this was so helpful they wanted to post it on their site.

Post away, I said. We’re all about the sharing information here at beaver central.