Yesterday was a little burst of beaver energy. First there was the trip to our good friends at Folkmanis who donated a bag of truly delightful puppets for sunday’s Art in the Park Raffle. If you aren’t familiar with their merchandise pick up any wildlife puppet at a bird store or museum and you will see their handiwork. I have been enamored of their creations since my first alligator puppet purchased way back in graduate school. Now my office looks like a showroom and I am thrilled they count themselves among our supporters.
A second burst of excitement came in the form of a request from the EPA to use my photos in a free educational calendar. Not sure how the EPA (and this particular division in Southern CA) came to see our beaver web page, but its good news all the same. The visibility of these beavers have been their surest protection. A few hundred more pairs of eyes are always welcome.
Less positive (but still enormously helpful) news came from the Lindsay Museum whom I had approached about the possibility of treating wild raccoons for roundworm parasites. Turns out even if they could be dosed the treatment would need to be repeated every two weeks forever. Outside a host body roundworm can survive for many years and any partial treatment of a raccoon might make the infestation more resistant to medication. Nearly all raccoons carry their parasite and there is no way we are going to prevent them from transmitting it to our beavers. Fortunately, most animals can and do recover, but we are going to have some casualties. The well-meaning people who feed the cats along the lost path inadvertently contribute: the raccoons consistently stop to eat the cat food, spreading their parasites to cats and beavers alike.
Speaking of cats in the “lost” trail, there’s a new stripped resident that definitely isn’t feral and has been purring about and allowing himself to be stroked by visitors to the fallen tree. This was most likely an abandoned house pet, and he’s on the lookout for a new home. If you are considering adding a kitty to your life, why not let destiny give you the kitty that comes from the beavers? I’m sure he’d make someone a lovely pet.
