Columnist and Zoologist Bob Mount Greets Auburn and Opelika this morning with the advice “Beavers Are Good Neighbors to Have“. He directs readers’ attention to the most recent issue of “Outdoor Alabama” with an article about beaver benefit to the habitat. It’s not yet available online, and since I am not a subscriber I can only guess at its beavery goodness. Here is part of Bob’s summary:
The latest edition of Outdoor Alabama, a magazine published by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, contained an exceptionally well-written and informative article about beavers. The author, Rick Claybrook, is a wildlife biologist with the department.
Claybrook recognizes and elaborates on the positive influences beavers have on our environment. The impoundments their dams create allow for settlement of silt and sediment that would otherwise contaminate the downstream segments of the streams. I am reasonably certain that the quality of the water downstream from a beaver pond is substantially higher than that flowing into the pond.
Claybrook also realizes other benefits of beaver impoundments. They reduce the severity of droughts by conserving rainwater and helping to maintain ground water levels. He also mentions the contributions beavers make to a wide variety of wildlife species. He did not mention ducks as beneficiaries, but my observations indicate that beaver ponds provide ideal brood-rearing habitats for wood ducks and hooded mergansers.
Bob goes onto to reminisce about some orphan beaver kits that he and his neighbor raised back in the day, right down to swimming with them in the pond. Apparently his dog even allowed them to nurse for a while. My favorite part was the kit responding to being locked outside by chewing through the front door, which reminds us why beavers don’t make good pets, and why I should count my blessings and remember that even though the new puppy has chewed the walls, she’s not chewed through them, and that’s something. The article doesn’t exactly explain how the beavers became orphans who were stolen away by his doberman and forced to live without their parents, but still, its a nice read.
If the outdoorsmen of Alabama are hearing a bit of the beaver gospel, it can only be a good thing.
