Willard Bay State Park Beaver Dam Partially Contained Chevron Oil Spill, Officials Say
Well looks like the Huffington post took time out of its busy day of politics and fashion flaws to write about the beaver heroes in Utah who saved the diesel spill with their dam. Apparently six beavers have now been rescued, and the first three are doing better.
The beavers that were part of the group rescued Tuesday night had burns on their skin and eyes, and only patches of fur left on their bodies. Erickson said she worries that some of the newly rescued beavers might not survive the fallout from the spill. It’s unknown whether any other beavers might remain near the fuel leak site and have yet to be rescued, officials said.
One of the new beavers, a head-strong mother, is resisting the three-a-day cleanings with Dawn dish soap. So Erickson and other workers had to sedate her. Workers brought in more than 40 large bottles of the soap to scrub the beavers clean during their hour-long baths.
It’s terrible that they’re in such bad shape, but it makes me so happy to read this – to think of the family together again. And to remember that Sherri Tippie said when she trapped entire families the last was ALWAYS the mom. We were lucky in every way with our mom beaver, who, when she was sick, was such a good sport and let Jon and Cheryl nudge her into a dog crate with no fuss at all.
Protecting other animals and plants is part of the beavers’ daily routine, said Phil Douglass, spokesman for the Department of Wildlife Resources. Beavers are natural homemakers, he said, crediting beaver dams, or “lodges,” for drawing moose to Utah because moose like still waters for drinking. The dams also keep the water cool for trout and make surrounding areas healthier by inviting more plant growth.
That paragraph starts out so well. And then things get so horribly muddled. I’m going to assume Phil knows that beaver dams aren’t lodges and that beavers don’t live in the dam. I’m going to say that who ever patched this article together didn’t know the difference and assumed they were interchangeable. Just so we’re clear, beavers don’t draw moose to their lodges, okay?
Anyway, I finally managed to post a comment on HP after 16 hours of trying, so go join me in singing the beaver praises if you have a moment.
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Remember, today is the last day to submit recommendations to Fish & Wildlife for adopting beaver as a surrogate species. Sick of listening to me nag about it? Lets let Owen and Sharon of Beavers: Wetlands and Wildlife do it for me. Send your comments here.
