Beavers fell trees, ‘raise havoc’ near Meriden’s Silver Lake
The beavers are back — with a vengeance. They’ve expanded Little Silver Lake — which is on the Meriden-Berlin line, across the train tracks from Silver Lake — to about four times its previous size, and not everybody is happy about it.
City Councilor Trevor Thorpe. “Quite honestly, (beavers) are not the cuddly, nice creatures cartoons make them out to be,” Thorpe said. “They are actually quite destructive. They’ve raised havoc down here. They have been down here for well over a year now.”
Listen to Trevor! Beavers aren’t cuddly. They’re destructive. They’re like furry organic bulldozers – well not like bulldozers because bulldozers mean development and parking lots and money for the city – and beavers don’t bring money. They’re WORSE than bulldozers. They’re like wrecking balls! Forest fires! Tornadoes!
Got that?
After a walk across a large field and down a trail scarred with ATV tracks, Thorpe pointed out the beaver den, a large hut offshore made of wood and mud. A great blue heron perched atop the hut for a few minutes before flying off in the direction of Silver Lake.
Nearby, a beaver swam in and out of the small trees where the shore used to be. It slapped its tail on the water a couple of times before retreating back to the hut.
From where the train tracks split Silver Lake and Little Silver Lake, the small side appears to have a higher water level, which Thorpe said is unusual. It is unclear if beavers are clogging the culvert or if debris is in the way.
While beavers may be causing headaches for some humans, wildlife is taking full advantage of the larger pond.
A swan sat on a nest at what used to be the edge of the swamp. Huge trees near the edge of the trail stand dying, their bases completely under water.
Gosh that sounds destructive! Swans and blue herons and beavers! I bet there’s otters and turtles and frogs too! Those rotten beavers and their wicked wetland ways! Thank goodness Trevor came on the scene just in time! No telling what kind of wildlife riffraff might have moved in!
Is it me or do you get the feeling this reporter was touring the area, struggling to keep a straight face, and all the while thinking: are you insane? Destructive? Look at everything the beavers created! This pond is a Connecticut Oasis!
It’s a nice article and given last Saturdays reminder from Massachusetts that flooded trees in beaver bonds create great blue heron rookeries, it couldn’t be better timed. I think some folks get letters.
Oh and here’s a video of the not-at- all-cuddly-villain in question in case you’re looking for them on the post office wall.
(I actually hate this video because these folks apparently found the orphan, took him for a photo shoot and then dumped him about a mile from where he got lost, but it IS remarkable footage. And the not-at-all-cuddly thing is SO cute that I apparently cannot watch more than 25 seconds without bursting into protective tears!
Good luck!
