The fun, The fowl and the Furry

Today’s beaver stories run the range from frisky to frustrating so I thought I’d start you off on a fun note with this article from Wired UK. I spotted a few inaccuracies so I can’t testify to its veracity. But its a fun read.

Why people thought beavers bit off their testicles

This tale begins with the ancient Egyptians, who had a hieroglyphic depicting a beaver chewing off his testicles as a representation of the punishment for adultery among humans in their society. In the West, it was Aesop who first wrote of the myth in his famous fables: “When pursued, the beaver runs for some distance, but when he sees he cannot escape, he will bite off his own testicles and throw them to the hunter, and thus escape death.” Pliny the Elder, the first great naturalist (though also a fairly reliable peddler of untruths), echoed this in his encyclopedia Natural History, which for hundreds and hundreds of years served as a trusted scientific authority.

And just one more of Gerald’s beaver oddities before we get back to the testicles: He claims that when constructing their dams, beavers “make use of the animals of their own species instead of carts.” A few individuals obey “the dictates of nature” and “receive on their bellies the logs of wood cut off by their associates.” Holding tight with their feet, and having “transverse pieces placed in their mouths,” the unfortunate workers are “drawn along backwards, with their cargo, by other beavers, who fasten themselves with their teeth to the raft.” They are, in essence, living skis.

Hahahahaha. Now that I hadn’t heard. But it’s no more silly that lots of things we hear about beavers. Take for instance the notion proffered by a woeful county in the most progressive beaver state in the nation that tearing down a dam will make beavers leave.

Kitsap County road crews battling persistent beaver

Gosh that’s so surprising. Tearing down the dam almost always never works! Sheesh. I was contacted by boots on the ground the last time we visited Kitsap, so maybe they’ll have better luck! It would be great if you could write a letter too, telling the board of supervisors how well our flow device works in Martinez.

And now for the fun and furry part. Yesterday on the guardian they released the most adorable photo of beaver kits that has yet been taken.They wrote:

A husband and wife photography team are now so friendly with a family of wild beavers they let them take their portrait. Bettina and Christian Kutschenreiter have spent 10 years making regular visits to the beavers after they interrupted them taking pictures of kingfishers near the city of Rosenheim near Munich, Germany. And now they are able to get up close and personal as the animals recognise their voices when they come to visit.Picture: Kutschenreiter/Arco/Solent News

Before I show you I want you to brace yourselves. Here at Martinez Beavers.org we have seen our share of adorable beaver photos. We have been around the beaver block, as it were. But this is in a new category by itself. I just want you to take a deep breath and hold onto something stable before you look. It’s that cute.

Is that a scene from Narnia, Tolkein or Macbeth? I’m still trying to decide.

Oh and while you’re thinking, would you please vote on which of these you prefer? The Beaver Believers cute shirt convinced me to think about kid shirts. Write and tell me which one you like?