Beaver mating – Worth A Dam

Another Monday has come with no kits yet to celebrate. I thought I’d share the video that raised my hopes. This was shot by Moses Silva the night of June 11 this year. The female emerges from a bank hole, is followed by the male and then they mate. I just noticed the vocalizations in this so turn your sound WAY UP if you want to be amazed with me. I think the female calls to him first, sounding almost like a whale, and when he follows you hear another grunting (I think) male voice while they mate. It’s interesting to me because of that female invitation, which I don’t think has ever been written about. The sound occurs about 2 seconds in. I showed it to Bernie Krause when I heard it and he was interested, but said there was too much ‘ambient noise’ to really focus on.

Sheesh! It’s Martinez!

Well, what do you think? Is that a noise mom’s making at the beginning or not? And did that mating do its job or not? In all my years of filming and watching beavers I’ve never heard them blow bubbles until this film, and it seems like they both do. Maybe its a mating thing?

Beaver gestation is supposed to be around 107 days. So counting from the 12th of June her due date would be tonight, September 26. And here’s how weirdly synced am I, I didn’t know for sure her date until I just counted out the days with a calendar. That sure explains why she still looked huge in that last video. We don’t usually see the kits for the first three or four weeks, so when I get back from vacation they should be visible! Keep an eye out for me will you?

Assuming they exist.

Now, here’s something special just in case that sexy beaver footage got you in the mood.

D. S. & Durga HYLNDS Free Trapper (2016)

Brooklyn-based artisan perfumers D.S. & Durga released a new fragrance composition under their newer sub-label HYLNDS (pronounced « Highlands »). It is called Free Trapper, a throwback scent to the era of frontier people and the fur trade that was a magnet for adventurers in search of riches in the wilds…

« Beaver trappers were the cowboys of early America. Renegade mountaineers of the Jacksonian era who cut trails through the wild in search of beaver pelts – prized by hatters, doctors, & perfumers. »

The result is what looks on paper to be a dark, aromatic and animalic scent featuring notes of dark cedar, snake root, synthetic beaver castor, and wild bergamot.

That’s right. Now YOU TOO can smell like a beaver. Or a trapper. Take your pick. (I guess it depends on if you’re a top or a bottom.) All those years when I wrote about the barely-latent sexual admiration modern society has for trappers, you thought I was exaggerating. HA! Here’s the proof. A fairly expensive perfume that reminds the nose of the fur trade. Knowing how important the smell of castoreum was to the success of beaver trapping, makes this particularly horrible. I’m thinking this would be my reaction to the perfume:

Scottish beavers break tradition with wife-swapping

Beavers are known for their monogamy and mating for life.

But when two pairs were introduced to the wild west coast of Scotland, they let standards slip and promptly indulged in a partner-swap.

The five-year Scottish Beaver Trial was held in Knapdale Forest in mid-Argyll, and beavers remain in the area. Field operations manager for the trial, Roisin Campbell-Palmer, said: “During the monitoring period one of the interesting observations was that two pairs swapped partners.

“Beavers usually mate for life, however these were all young adults encouraged to form pairs either in captivity prior to release or at the release site after the loss of an original mate.

“When given the freedom to choose a mate on their own, they obviously preferred a different arrangement.

All of Europe is shocked, SHOCKED I tell you, that beavers would rather pick their own life partner than let some skinny Norwegian tech assign one randomly for them. Hand them the smelling salts and the fainting couches. I, for one am not in the least surprised. First of all, how do we know this was wife-swapping? Beavers societies are matriarchal in structure, so wouldn’t it be better to call this a a case of “husband-swapping” instead?

Second of all, I

remember Sharon Brown of Beavers: Wetlands and Wildlife advising me once that Dorothy Richards had been surprised when a female beaver she wanted to have kits turned down the mate she introduced and picked her own. We can only wonder why. “His dams were uneven? He snored in the lodge? His Castoreum smelled funny?” We might never know. But we at least know this.

Beavers like to make their OWN decisions. (They are not unlike people in this regard.)

“This is actually a natural and positive outcome as animals selecting their own partners are shown to have strong pair bonds and higher reproductive rates.”

The beavers – who came from Norway – were obviously happy with their new companions because soon one of the pairs bred for the first time, and the other female was suspected of being pregnant, although no kits were ever seen.