Anoop writes:
I was looking into my back yard and noticed a large hole in it. All
of a sudden this animal with enormous ears poked it’s head out.
I’m not sure if this qualifies as a BLM sighting, exactly, but I think it’s pretty interesting so I’ll post it. This past week I was in NY and my mom made me go to took me to the Museum of Jewish Heritage. There were lots of, you know, exhibits and stuff, but one thing in particular really caught my eye. It was a really old Yiddish/English dictionary that a Jewish individual had brought with him when he imigrated to America decades ago. The dictionary was propped open behind a piece of glass, opened to a random (I assume) page. And do you know what the first word in the second column was? BEAVER.
My Aunt Holly writes:
On Wednesday, during this glorious weather we have been having here in Connecticut, I was out in the backyard surveying all the work to be done and also feeding the birds / squirrels when out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a movement. Pivoting quickly to my left, I spotted the dearest little chipmunk scooting across the yard with a peanut in its mouth. Up the drainpipe it went. I find this unusual because in the 25 years we have lived here, I have never seen a chipmunk. I can only hope it has a large family and that I see it and them again soon. Welcome chipmunk.
Thanks Aunt Holly! We at beaverlikemammals.com join you in hoping that an entire chipmunk family has moved into your backyard.
Wow, today was a rich, rich day in terms of beaver sightings! Maybe the richest day ever! Walter claimed to have stumbled upon a beaver dam in the woods by his house and he took me there to check it out. To get to the location we walked along the train tracks for some time, then cut through the woods, climbing over logs and thorny bramble things. On the way, we found some animal bones and an ancient NYC sweatshirt. The dam was really amazing. Much longer than I expected, and so neat and perfect. Walter, who knows about this sort of thing, pointed out that the dam was curved, which makes it stronger. Apparently, humans build curved dams as well. Beavers must be so smart, and know a lot about engineering (or whatever it is you know about if you build dams). Here is a picture of the location, and a picture of the dam:
Here is a picture of a cute little beaver foot print in the mud:
After examining the dam, we walked for quite some time along the edge of the lake, which Walter told me is called a littoral (noun: a region lying along a shore). The only reason I mention it is that he mentioned it about ten times, so I guess it must have been important to him, and hey, improving one’s vocabulary is always a good thing. Anyhow, we walked along the littoral, balancing on fallen logs and getting scratched by brambles, and seeing many chewed-on beaver sticks, like this one:
And then finally, we came to a beaver house! It was a big pile of sticks, half in the water, half out. We climbed on top of it, which was probably not very nice, but we did make an effort not to squish it or in any way hurt it or its occupants. Here is Walter on top of the beaver house, with the NYC sweatshirt. As you can see, the “C” is in a really weird place:
I know you are probably thinking that it could not get more exciting than this, but as we were looking at the house, Walter suddenly shouted “OHABEAVER!!!” and I looked up and saw a real, honest to goodness, live beaver dive under the water with a loud slap of his tail! It was so exciting. The beaver definitely did not seem very happy about the two of us being there. He swam around and stared at us and slapped his tail a few times. Here is a movie. Please note, not only is this the first beaver movie to appear on this site, it is my first ever iMovie. Go me. If you listen closely, you can hear some really insightful comments by me and Walter:
Anyhow, it was a totally exciting day, and even though Walter has not submitted to this site, he is certainly a friend to BLMs. Thanks, Walter.
Michael writes:
This beaver-like freak of nature jumped on me this morning when I was trying to sleep.
I’m not sure what it is, but it has hair and nipples, so it must be a mammal.
Liz writes:
Between the exits for Dairy and McIntyre, across from the
“art-in-place”, I frequently see a little groundhog in the grass as I
pass by. Today, even though blustery and cold, he was out.
Undoubtedly, he was investigating the building process of the whale
tail.
PS- I hope to get you a picture, soon, of my friendly neighborhood raccoon.
My mom writes:
Just wanted to let you know that your Aunt Roe and I, while driving over to pick up Grandma, spotted a beaver like mammal on I91 between exits 37 and 38. It was approximately at 12:27PM. The animal stood for a few second and then slowly waddled back to a wooded area. It had a kind face and was a goodly size. momxx
Hey Phoebe – I am so excited because I saw a beaver just in time for your new web site. Because of all the rain we had here last week in Connecticut, a large pool formed in my next door neighbor’s yard and lo and behold (kind of like at Christmas) I spotted a BLM – and I think it was a beaver. I took Wishbone out there this morning but he didn’t track it down. Perhaps it is gone but I will keep an eye out.
Love from your Aunt Holly
Hayley writes:
Behind my house there is a creek, and I sometimes take my dogs to swim in it although not as often now because my chihuahua crawls down groundhog holes and I am terrified they will bury him and he will die. Anyway, there is a beaver dam on the creek and a family of beavers. They are so cute and they work together as a team to build a happy home to shelter their young. So hard working and never complaining, why can’t humans be more like beavers?
PS – Are those panties on the beaver’s head?
Thanks Hayley, for raising this interesting discussion topic. Why *can’t* humans be more like beavers? Thoughts anyone? Feel free to leave a comment by clicking on the “comments” link.
Greg writes:
In the summer of 1995 a friend and I were staying at a lodge in North
Ontario (just like the CSNY ditty).We were told of an old tradition where in one takes a map of the
local land, picks a lake, of which there are literally hundreds,
leaves at sunrise, and attempts to find that lake and canoe it by
sundown of the same day.We set out early, avoiding the black bears at the dump, and making
fun of moose tracks that looked like genitalia, eating blackberries…After hours of four wheeling both on and off mining roads, bush
whacking through briars, and assembling bridges made from mattresses
and discarded bookshelves, we found our oasis.It was a small puddle of a pond-like lake surrounded by a perimeter
of 50 yards of dense brush and aspens. We were exhausted and pissed. We took a break beside an earthen dam before making the descent down the hill to the water.While sitting quietly, staring off into nothingness, we heard a
“SLAP!!!!” come from just over our shoulders. We turned to see a
beaver moving across the back flow of the small pool formed by the dam.As soon as we turned and glimpsed it’s oily head, it dipped beneath
the surface and entered its lodge.
Thanks Greg for submitting our first international sighting!
