Status Updates From Beavers: Radical Rodents an...

Yes, I am reading a book about beavers.

Review to come closer to the pub date of May 11th. SUCH a good book!!

How can you give beavers a boost? Important information in here!

April 7th is International Beaver Day, missed it this year. Pout.

Beavers are a key part of the ecology and can help in water stewardship, which in this day and age, we BADLY need.

Don’t drink untreated water straight from a beaver pond. Giardia can live in beavers without affecting them, but it most definitely affects humans. Not deadly usually and treatable, and not the only way to get Giardia, but best to avoid that situation.

Wolves are a natural predator of beavers and beavers can’t tell the difference between a wolf and a dog, so keep your dog out of the water if there are beavers around, as beavers can and will attack the dog if they feel threatened. Good to know!

Wow! There are two beavers living in NYC!! They got their on their own and have made it their home, so cool!

Beavers are the national animal of Canada and the state animal of Oregon and New York. And apparently Astor made his millions from trapping beavers for their fur. Gross.

“I’ve got a great idea! Let’s introduce beavers to South America, a place they have never lived so we can hunt them for their pelts!” “What about the environment? The plants haven’t adapted to the beavers, who greatly change their environment and they have no natural predators.” (Hand waves) “It’ll be fine, don’t worry!” (One ecological disaster later, not fine.)

Picture of Archibald Belaney hand feeding the TEENIEST beaver baby, it’s standing on a tree stump on its hind legs, is SO heart meltingly CUTE!!!

The beaver is Oregon’s state animal and is on the reverse side of their state flag, the only double sided state flag of the USA.

Aaaand here’s where we get to the “humans suck and kill everything and we almost exterminated beavers from the planet” part. True and necessary to learn but OHMAIGOD it makes me hate humans so much! I’m going to need a happy book after this, just to wash the taste of stupid human out of my brain.

Beavers react fanatically to the sound of running water and will block it with any material they have on-hand. So don’t flush or run a tap around a beaver!

EVEN CUTER PICTURE OF A BEAVER CARRYING MUD TO WORK ON LODGE CONSTRUCTION!!! (Squee!!)

CUTE PICTURE OF A BEAVER CHEWING AT A TREE ALERT!!!

Beavers share their winter lodging with muskrats and voles. Extra body heat!

Their tail is a fat reservoir for the winter months, with it doubling in size over the summer!

In order to get all of the nutritional benefits from their all vegetation diet, beavers have to eat their poo the first time it comes out! Eeeeewww....

“And if they do need to do some chewing while they are down there (underwater) they can close their lips behind their front teeth so they don’t swallow any water.” O.o. I’m trying to imagine that biological feat and failing. They have teeth on the outside of their mouths?? In a horror sci-fi movie, that would be terrifying!

Beavers can grow up to three feet long and weigh 35-100 pounds!?! And they are rodents, but SUCH CUTE ones to be sure. Adorable!

SQUEAL!!!! LOOK AT ITS CUTE PAWS!!!!