Are there enough cute things?

Orphaned beaver kits learn to swim at Salthaven wildlife centre

Four orphaned beaver kits are testing out their growing strength as they learn to swim, weeks after they arrived at Salthaven Wildlife Rehabilitation West as cold and weak newborns.  The young beavers arrived at Salthaven in early May after trappers found them next to their mother, which they caught in a trap near Fort Qu’Apelle.

Because that’s what trappers do: “trap some, save some” It’s like a lethal daisy petal-plucking game of he loves me he loves me not. Some day I might have to sit down with beaver rehabbers and say, you realize this  is kinda futile, don’t you? Why not spend some of your donations on education so people realize they have other options next time?

But there’s no denying the pictures are cute.

Speaking of cute pictures, a few of you might remember Brian Murphy from Walnut Creek Open Space and Audubon at the beaver festival. He’s been with us since our VERY first festival and he is a great champion of wildlife. Well, he’s been watching a fox den under his porch and caught the kits hiding out in the drain pipe the other day. I know we’ll want to thank him for these photos personally at the next beaver festival!

Your final dose of cuteness will await me every day I step onto my porch for the rest of my life.  Mario will be finishing up the great blue heron and the dam today. Just in time for the festival planning meeting this weekend! Just admit it, you’re jealous.