Dian and I camped at the Ashcroft Municipal Campground for 5 days in August. Friends Art and Marlene joined us for a couple of days before they moved on to Douglas Lake campground. When they left we went exploring on our own. At a local lake, we ran into a lady who was camped there. We struck up a conversation and she told us she was staying there while her husband worked at a local mine for the summer. I guessed she was from Newfoundland as the accent was obvious. She told us about a pond she had discovered where we were sure to find Beaver. We returned to the pond that evening and set up our camping chairs around 6:15. Almost immediately the action started. The following pictures were taken over the next two evenings. I have added comments that I have gleaned from the internet to make it appear I am an expert on Beavers.
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| Dian took this shot of me with her cell phone, by the beaver pond. |
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| When the Beaver saw us they would swim up close, trying to ascertain if we were friend or foe. This one had a notch in its' ear. The setting sun was just right but went below the horizon shortly after. |
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| A shot taken a few minutes later was taken in the shade. |
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| This one had what looks like a "burr" alongside its' nose. |
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| Beaver have a split toe on their hind feet that they use for grooming. Here is it trying to rid itself of the burr. |
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| The burr appears to be still there. You can see the split-toe grooming the fur. |
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| The scratching appears to feel pretty good. The upper teeth can grow up to 25 millimeters. Constant chewing keeps them sharp and at an acceptable length. We could hear them chewing the bark off twigs at a good distance. |
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| Beaver have sacs at the base of their tail that produces castoreum. They use this to mark territory. When I worked for the Hudson's Bay Co. northern stores (many years ago), we would buy these sacs off of trappers. It is used for perfume and some food products although if you ever saw what we bought you wouldn't want to wear or eat it. Castor oil is extracted from beans so you can keep eating that. |
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| Beaver have a cloaca like a bird. I was quite surprised when I read this. All excrement and urine are excreted out of the same hole which is also used for reproduction. I guess the least amount of holes in the hull is a good thing if you spend a lot of time in the water. |
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| This one came far enough out of the water so we could see the tail. |
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| This was one of the smaller ones. At one time Catholics considered beaver to be akin to fish and therefore okay to eat during fasting days. |
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| This was the biggest one. This one was so fat we almost laughed. Both sexes can get up to 90 pounds. Usually, they have young ones in May or June but they have been known to have kits later than that. This has me wondering if this one is pregnant. |
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