Just so we don’t become too jaded and accustomed to our wondrous creek viewing, I thought I’d take a moment to list some surprising things about going to visit the beavers. The first has to be their size. Everyone gasps the same thing when GQ lumbers out of the water. “They’re so BIG!” The tail slap, if you’re lucky enough to get one, is a big surprise. I saw my first one in May of 2008 on a morning where there was a massive otter hanging out on the beaver dam. Dad slapped 19 times and I was finally able to get the last one on film!
The fact that beavers don’t eat fish or live in the dam comes as a surprise to many people at first. People are also surprised to learn that they don’t pat mud with their tails but can walk upright when they carry it. The kit tail size brings wonders of its own, and everyone seems to adore their little tail. Ahh. But beavers don’t have a monopoly on surprises. How about the way turtles leave their heads above water while they float and hang out? Or the amazing squawk of the green heron when his repose has been disturbed? Don’t forget the rapid swimming of the muskrat who appears to go right into the beaver lodge at times, or the fact that everyone uses the same passage over the primary dam. I never fail to be surprised by the huge splash that comes when a massive fish leaps out of the water. And my most recent surprise has been a reminder of how well your basic Norwegian rats can swim, and even dive!
I guess turning beavers into gold isn’t really all that surprising. It was once the driving force in opening the west. A lot of people did it. Millions of beavers were turned into gold and the entire terrain and geology of a country changed forever. Places that had never known drought became arid, and places that had once supported rich growth flooded over. Never mind that’s no surprise. Beavers were turned into gold all the time. But how about this?
