So my brief obsession with superciliary vibrissae lead to Sherri Tippie sending me some early kit photos that showed they were present from a young age. Mystery solved, but ohhh looking at these photos has caused such a grand commotion of oooohing and awwwwwwing among Worth A Dam members that we are incapable of forming complete sentences. I thought I’d share the source of my affliction with you, but first, the answer to the mystery, so we can lay that to rest. Look at those wiry black hairs above the eye. Not as stiff as an older beaver and certainly the sense isn’t as developed, but those are vibrissae.
Okay now that we’re done with that mystery, check out the entire photo. Remember Sherri is the top beaver relocator in the country so she often ends up caring for or raising kits/orphans. In this picture her friend Chris is holding a week old kit. Look at that tail against her wrist! . I’m thinking a visit to Colorado next June is in order?
Sure grown-ups and skilled professionals can manage to hold a beaver. But how difficult is it? Wouldn’t those incisors take out a finger? We are constantly meeting people (usually trappers) who tell us how vicious beavers are. I guess she’s holding that kit a special way or something to make it harder to get a dental grip?
Meet Anna R. who is 8 in this picture. Sherri tells me that when she was 5 she became cheerfully obsessed with beavers. Her dad says she used to walk around the family home repeating “Sherri Tippie! Sherrie Tippie! Sherri Tippie!”. (I know the feeling.) Even though she was too young to help with relocation, she wanted to be involved. This is such an traffic-stopping photo the police should be called. Here’s another one in case you want to see Anna and the beaver smile.
Photos courtesy of Sherri Tippie
Gosh those are lovely, thank you so much for sharing! And just in case you think we are just bunny huggers around here, I’ll offer some intellectual stimulation as well. Sharon Brown of Beavers: Wetlands and Wildlife lets us know that her letter to the Buffalo News.com was printed in Thursdays issue. Remember the nice article about some researchers noticing that the beaver dam in Woodlawn Wetlands was actually helping water quality and restoring the stream? I wrote them that this wasn’t unique to Buffalo and that if New York could allow more beavers to improve the watershed we’d all be better off. Sharon thought so too
August 26, 2010, 6:54 AM
Thanks for Gerry Rising’s refreshing look at Woodlawn’s wetlands in the Aug. 15 News. Yet negative references to these oases of life still abound—i. e. recent comments about “draining the swamp” of D. C. government—even though wetlands are rated as the land’s best life-support system.
Luckily, we no longer need sacrifice wetlands benefits to prevent road flooding as the modern beaver flow devices are very efficient and cost-effective. Last summer our educational nonprofit sent a team (an engineer and me, a biologist, who were both born and raised in Buffalo suburbs) to Orchard Park to consult with the town engineer and highway superintendent about an installation in Birdsong Park. We can have win-win solutions.
Because beaver dams accentuate the normal filtering function of wetlands, often 90 percent less sediment is in the water downstream. This means less expensive treatment is needed at plants to produce drinking water. Plus, a series of dams keeps water on the land longer and slows the flow of streams, resulting in fewer droughts and less costly flood damage downstream. As such extreme weather events increase with climate change, the beaver can be our ally.
Marshy wetlands are, or will become, peatlands as dead vegetation accumulates underwater. Peatlands are the best ecosystem for carbon storage, but draining them allows the peat to oxidize and release carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas. It costs people from $10,000 to $100,000 to restore an acre of wetlands, but the average New York beaver family impounds 15 acres—and works for free.
Sharon T. Brown
Dolgeville
