BEAVER TALES
By Kevin Fancy
The Beaver is Canada's largest rodent. Their range extends to every
province, and thus have become the adopted symbol of our country. Busy
as a Beaver is not just an idle comment and should be received as high
praise indeed, as this creature is the epitome of a tireless worker. It
is interesting to note that the Beaver is such a tenacious worker that
it alone in the animal kingdom shares an important trait with man. The
Beaver is the only animal besides man that creates its own habitat.
Lately the Beaver has received some bad press especially in Washington.
Not undeserved, the damage caused by some local populations in the form
of property destruction, flooding of fields and roadways and destruction
of young trees is not the fault of the animal itself but more the result
of their swelling ranks. It is now believed that present day Beaver
numbers are higher than they were when Europeans first arrived a few
hundred years ago.
What is being done to keep the beaver under control? Gray Arnett of the
Ontario Canada Ministry of Natural Resources said they keep a handle on
population growth by making existing trappers meet a quota of Beaver
kills. If the OMNR decides that a particular area is being overrun, a
trapper will then be assigned and instructed to remove at least 70% of
an assigned quota. Thanks to the likes of the "animals first" outfits,
Beaver have become a problem even in urban areas. Where this is the
case, Arnett says the OMNR will send in special trappers to remove and
relocate the offending critters. This is another case of specialty
groups causing enough noise and spreading enough misinformation to
change what was once a valuable commodity into what is now a costly
problem.
Now if you are an angler the Beaver should be concidered your friend.
When they occasionally fell trees into the water it can create fish
attracting structure (and NO Beavers DO NOT control WHERE a tree falls.
If it lands in the water it's a fluke). As well, Beavers build dams and
lodges that create current breaks and oxygenate water. They can raise
the depth of a pond or lake to the extent where ice will no longer
freeze to the bottom, and they form wetlands suitable for ducks, which
supply feathers for fly tiers and meat for summer anglers/fall hunters.
So have you seen a Beaver lately? Their flat head and even flatter tail
are a dead giveaway. Growing to a maximum size in Canada of about
seventy pounds the Beaver is one gigantic rodent. They all may not be
the same either. It is believed that Canada has between 13-24
sub-species of Beaver. Well, I saw a seventy pound Beaver in the wild
once and I didn't ask him what his sub-species was, it took me by
surprise and nearly scared my pants off. If you think that's big,
imagine this; fossil hunters have recovered prehistoric Beaver skulls
that were estimated to weigh in at about 700 pounds. Think of the
bruiser that was attached to and thank your lucky stars they died out
with the other big guys. Can you imagine the dams those old boys could
have built?
Happy Hooking! ~ Kevin Fancy
Our Man In Canada Archives
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June 21st, 1999
