Because the beaver isn't just an animal; it's an ecosystem!

Tag: Martinez Beavers Heidi Perryman


Isn’t this a lovely picture? Its from a very seminal work by Lewis Henry Morgan entitled “The American Beaver and His Works”. Morgan was a lawyer turned Iroquois-friend, turned anthropologist and was remarkable for his progressive thinking about cultures and intelligence. He used his study of beavers (he called them “mutes” so he must not of heard them talking…) to question the 1800’s generally accepted notion that animal behavior is based soley on instinct.

“I propose to submit, in a brief form, a series
of considerations or arguments based upon the
structural organization, and authenticated acts, of
the higher animals, tending to show: first, that
they possess a mental principle; secondly, that
the qualities which it manifests are essentially
the same as those displayed by the human mind;
and lastly, that the difference between these
qualities, and inferentially, between the
principles they respectively represent, is one of
degree and not of kind” (Morgan 1868: 252) .

By studying dams, lodges and canals and the way they adapted to specific habitats, Morgan was able to argue fairly effectively that beavers were using complex thinking that combined instinct with pragmatic appraisal and available resources. Beaver friend Bob Arnebeck discusses Morgan’s work here. This was no small feat, and Morgan recognized that it was a significant challenge to the idea that only humans could make these kinds of decisions.

I have to say it is fairly remarkable to me that a man more than a hundred years ago was already beginning to notice that beaver mythology had gotten out of hand. Do you know that some had written about a “slave beaver” who did the work for the colony, but didn’t enjoy its spoils and had a less lustrous coat? Hmm I wonder what in our culture could have made people think that?

“I cannot refrain from smiling when I read the accounts of different authors who have written on the economy of these animals, as there seem to be a contest between them who shall most exceed in fiction”. page 309.

Ahh a man after my own heart. For an overview, check out this weirdly contextual article from Irene Cheng of  Cabinet Maginzine (?) it has a lovely description of his work which got me thinking. The link to the original text is on google books and is wholly searchable.

Oh and this morning Jon stopped to see our “mutes” finishing their dam repairs. A yearling picked up a final stick, put it in the gap of the primary dam, and then swam off to bed.

Text not available
The American Beaver and His Works By Lewis Henry Morgan
Text not available
The American Beaver and His Works By Lewis Henry Morgan

Got that? The “Slave beaver” builds dams by breaking sticks with its head, giving it a little worn patch, and the “Master beaver” takes it easy and spends his days eating fish. Just want to make sure you’re all paying attention.


Zion of the water bead

Deep with the first dead lies London’s daughter,
Robed in the long friends,
The grains beyond age, the dark veins of her mother,
Secret by the unmourning water
Of the riding Thames.
After the first death, there is no other.

Dylan Thomas: On the Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London

I wondered yesterday, when I learned of this kits’ death after walking in the door at 8:00 pm, if I would be less affected by this loss. After all I hadn’t seen it, and it hadn’t visibly suffered. I have been guardian of three beaver deaths from our colony, and two from neighboring colonies, so maybe I would place this in the larger context of life, death and survival of the fit and lucky.

Still, I found myself wondering, “which one” of our kits did we lose? Was it the one who comes out first each night and always eats where he can’t be seen?  Was it the one who loves blackberries? Was it the one with Mom in the superbowl video? Was it the one who eats bravely under the lamplight so you get a great view? Was it the one that gave a massive closeup shot on the bank this night?

I dreamed last night I was picking through the shallow creek and finding the other kits who had also died.

I guess we can assume the death is still affecting.

UPDATE ON DEATH:

The Kit was found at the primary dam, near the cove where the beavers eat. The restaurant Bertola’s got a report from a customer of the kit and tried to contact us but didn’t know how. Called animal control and was transferred to Lindsay. The woman who took the call happened to be a friend of Cheryl Reynolds and she was contacted. She went out and retrieved the beaver. It weighed in at 29.6lbs at Lindsay, and the new vet there took it up with her to UCDavis for necropsy.

We will make sure that our contact info is at Luigi’s and Bertolas for future reference. You can always email us at mtzbeavers@gmail.com.

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