Are times a’changing for Beavers?

heidi08 Beavers and Birds, Beavers elsewhere, Who's saving beavers now? February 2, 2015

We’ve had nothing but niceties for a while, but this morning we’re going to have to address some amazing beaver ignorance, delivered (of course) by a trapper and carefully quoted as fact by (unsurprisingly) an unquestioning reporter named Paul Hampton of the Mississippi Sun Herald. Get you beaver BS detectors ready.

Watch your pets in South Mississippi and don’t feed the coyotes

BILOXI — It probably would be a bigger surprise if there were no coyotes in Biloxi, wildlife officials say. Police animal control officials have yet to confirm reports of coyotes that can climb an 8-foot-tall fence but the animals have been spreading across the Southeast for decades.

“I can promise you there are coyotes in Biloxi,” said Troy Arguelles, a trapper who lives there.

Arguelles said he’d be glad to take coyotes off a worried homeowner’s hands but the only trapping he’s heard of lately is a family of beaver who were taken from a retention pond the animals invaded at a subdivision off Popp’s Ferry Road.

“That won’t alleviate the problem,” he said of the beavers’ capture. “It’ll just fix it for the time being.”

Beavers leave a scent and it won’t be long before a new family follows the scent to the pond and starts a little subdivision of their own, he said.

First of all, Troy, you are right about the scent. Beavers DO leave scent mounds to mark their territory. But surprisingly enough, they aren’t calling cards. It’s a keep out sign. So when beavers leave a scent around their homes they’re actually saying “Job filled: Need Not Apply.” Which means you’re mistaken. And the reporter should have thought to look it up and see if it was true. I can understand the confusion. Trappers use castoreum to catch beavers, so I guess it looks like they’re coming TOWARDS the scent. But they’re actually coming to fight whoever left that scent and kick them off their pond.

Not to start a commune.

But even if you were right, (I mean let’s pretend we’re in an alternate universe and a trapper from Mississippi understood things better than a beaver blogger from California), even by your own argument wouldn’t that make trapping pointless? If you are hired to kill some beavers and they left their perfume invitations all over, wouldn’t it mean that anyone who hired you would just be paying to switch beavers? Not getting rid of them?

Take your time, Troy. We can wait for your answer. I’m certainly not calling you stupid or anything. For all I know you might be the most brilliant man in Mississippi, I’m just curious.

Sheesh.

Thank you Robin of Napa for pointing out that the Beavers in Devon made this week’s Earthweek: A Diary of the Planet!

Beavers even made it to the popular British magazine “Bird Watch”. Capture Which seals their publicity arc. Now if we could only get them on the cover of “Today’s Angler” we’d be in business. I don’t see why it couldn’t happen.

Stranger things have been known to occur.

Bits and pieces

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beaver Rehabilitation, Beavers elsewhere, Festival July 7, 2014

Good job team beaver, the Beaver Believers project is now fully funded, which means we can all look forward to a fantastic beaver-lovin film in the near future. In the mean time I read that the Taipei zoo is celebrating its first beaver kit birth ever, and you can just imagine the rich concrete life this little guy is going to have!

Young beaver

A North American beaver pup, born at Taipei Zoo on June 19, plays in water in this undated photo. It was the first reproduction of the species at the zoo. Photo courtesy of Taipei Zoo July 7, 2014

We just finished reading a detailed response from expert beaver rehabber Cher Button-Dobmeier to the Alberta Wildlife Rescue about how kits need to have water they can fully immerse in to drink and urinate – and that if they don’t they will hold it in and get UTI’s which are a one way ticket to worse infections and possible death.

(And I for one, know that to be factually true!)

The map for this year’s festival is done and it took three days to finish with a million changes and details during which I greatly hated everyone in the world including beavers. So if you happen to notice that I spelled your name wrong or you can’t possibly be next to those people, I would think very carefully about drawing it to my attention.

And something for beaver cheer this morning we look to the brits, who are so delightful when it comes to loving wildlife. Even if DEFRA is evil.

“Tussocky and Clumpy!” – imagine that on an american program!

And then there were three…

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers elsewhere, Who's Killing Beavers Now? February 27, 2014

Um four. Because looking at this I see and hear two youngsters and a parent. Which means there are two parents somewhere. How cool is THAT! Click on the image to go to the BBC report and watch for yourself.Everything looks rather familiar.

A group of beavers have been seen in the English countryside in what is thought to be the first sighting of its kind in hundreds of years

‘First’ sighting of wild beavers in England for centuries

Three beavers have been filmed together on the River Otter in Devon. Landowner David Lawrence is mystified about where the animals have come from.

A spokesman for the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs said it was unlawful to release beavers in England and they were looking into what action to take.

Mr Lawrence thinks the beavers could help reduce flooding on his land and improve water quality. “We are quite happy for them to be here,” he said.

“At some point we might have to go in and clear up some of the wood because it could wash on down to Tipton and cause a flooding problem down there.”

Beavers were hunted to extinction in England and Wales during the 12th Century and disappeared from the rest of the UK 400 years later.

wrestle — 10 month old Kit push-match – Photo Cheryl Reynolds

Do you love Mr. Lawrence as much as I do? Maybe we should start a fan club. I pleased to hear whining in that footage and realize we’re talking GENERATIONS of beaver! Looks like youngsters and a parent. How perfect to have wild beavers s0 near where Heidi and Jon’s ancestors once walked!

Less love this morning for Ontario that has decided that the word “management” is a synonym for the word “kill”.

Beaver management to be discussed

Beavers are a problem in Enniskillen Township and will be managed so they don’t spread to other areas of Lambton County.

According to township administrator-clerk Duncan McTavish, beavers are currently active in the watersheds of Bear Creek, Durham Creek, Black Creek and Fox Creek. These are the primary municipal drains and natural watercourses that drain the township.

“This is a management issue. Like other wildlife, the numbers of beavers have to be controlled,” said McTavish in a Feb. 27 e-mail. “Unlike skunks and squirrels that are trapped and relocated, beavers cause damage to trees and obstruct the flow of waterways.

Managed sounds SO much nicer than crushed to death, doesn’t it? Thank goodness Ontario is going to take care of these beavers before they ‘spread’ their water-saving creek-enhancing ways to other areas!

I’m beginning to think it is easier to pass a camel through the eye of a needle than to get Ontario to understand beaver benefits.

Today’s donation comes from Paper Particles in Toronto, Canada. Laurel generously donated a beaver stamp set from her delightful collection. “These Rubber Stamp Sets Feature Iconic and Sometimes Corny Slogans and Motifs, that Every Canadian will Recognize!” Thanks Laurel!