Story after story about wildlife rehabbers raising baby beavers show off their adorableness, their vocal whining, their quirky habit of building dams in the hallway or chewing table legs. But the sadly stop short of drawing attention to what beavers are REALLY good at. Why they matter. And how to live with them.

Finally one wildlife rescue gets it right.

How a one-eyed beaver named Bo is spreading the word about wildlife rescues — and her species

On a chilly December afternoon, wildlife rehabilitator Alexis Broz-LaRoche found herself staring 20 feet down a canal lock. A young, injured beaver sat at the bottom.

The beaver is now recovering at Broz-LaRoche’s wildlife rehabilitation and rescue, Wild for Life, in Saratoga Springs. While the rescue cares for a variety of animals, beavers — along with other semiaquatic mammals and large rodents — are her specialty. In particular, a one-eyed beaver named Bo — whose arrival pushed Broz-LaRoche to start her new rescue — has become the face of the organization.

Broz-LaRoche, 32, had been a wildlife rehabilitator for years, ever since she rescued a baby squirrel she found while waitressing at a restaurant in Schuylerville. Like many rehabilitators, she worked a separate, full-time job to pay the bills. After previously operating a rescue in Fort Edward before the building flooded, she’d hoped to do the same again. Then, in May 2024, a friend called about an abandoned newborn beaver. She realized she couldn’t care for it and work full-time. She turned in her resignation that day and decided to start the rescue, with Bo as the first animal under its care.

Up until now this is a pretty familiar story, right? Wildlife rehab woman with a soft heart. We have seen it in every state in the country. Maybe even a beaver ambassador to take to classrooms.

“So much has already happened in a year and a half,” she said.

Bo, who lost an eye to an infection when she was young, is one of three who can’t return to the wild. Instead, she serves as an educational ambassador animal, making regular appearances to raise awareness about her species. While some non-releasable beavers eschew human interaction, Bo revels in it, dragging branches around and snacking on sweet potatoes under the eyes of her audience.

“Bo loves people,” Broz-LaRoche said. “Bo puts on a show.”

The North American beaver is believed to have once been much more prevalent, with hundreds of millions on the continent before European settlers arrived. In New York, the fur trade led to a near-regional extinction. But they’ve since made a comeback. The state Department of Environmental Conservation has called the current population “robust.” With that comes human encounters. The Capital Region had over 500 nuisance complaints last year. Public officials have contended with clogged reservoirs or flooded parks due to beavers’ diligent dam-building in towns like Mechanicville and Knox, where earlier this year the Town Board opted to trap and kill beavers in the wetlands just west of the town park.

You got my attention. I’m listening.

That’s where Broz-LaRoche — and Bo — come in. As an educational ambassador animal, Bo keeps a busy schedule visiting libraries, schools and nature centers and raising awareness about beavers’ role in the environment. In January, Bo will be at the Taghkanic Fire Company to promote the use of “beaver deceivers,” which curb flooding from beavers without stopping them or their dams. In Knox, Broz-LaRoche spoke about this at a town board meeting; the town has since applied for and received grant funding to look at the need for beaver deceivers.

“Beavers are such a beacon of hope and light,” she said. “Because when you release one back in the wild, they create the good. They create the homes and the habitats and the safety for all these other species.”

By damming waterways to create the ponds they use and reside along, beavers create new habitats for other animals — from insects to waterfowl. Studies have found their reintroduction can improve biodiversity, and their ability to reserve water and create wetlands can help stop wildfires. In the Southwest, they are being considered to restore wetlands. Broz-LaRoche calls them “environmental superheroes.”

As I live and breathe I never ever thought I’d see the day that a beaver rescue pointed the way to beaver deceiver. This makes me happier than I’ve been in a long time. I may have to make a donation. You too. Click here to go to their web page. They have a cute amazon wish list too.