Saved by the Beav
Rehal Guindon is very lucky to be alive. After young Rheal and his family arrived at their camp site, his parents decided to go fishing and Rheal played on the shore. The boat overturned he watched helplessly while both parents drowned right in front of him leaving him alone in the wilderness. Devastated and panicked, he attempted to walk back to the town they had last come through to seek help, but as the sun went down, and his heart filled with fear. He realized that he would have to spend the cold night outside. He was tired and traumatized as he lay on the cold, hard ground. When he felt something warm and furry press up against him, he was so tired he did not care, he assumed it was a dog and soon fell asleep. When he awoke the next morning, he discovered three beavers, snuggled up against him. The temperatures had dipped below zero over the course of the night, and it is more than likely that he would have frozen to death, if not for his new furry friends. A beaver’s fur coat can both stop the cold from getting in and body heat from getting out because it is made up of two layers. Their upper fur is long and designed to be waterproof. This upper layer grows longer and thicker for winter. The second layer is an underfur. It is finer, and its oiliness helps keep water away from their skin. This second layer also provides extra insulation and keeps the beaver’s body heat in. Back on the road, hungry and dirty, Rheal told his story to the policeman that picked him up. Thanks to those beavers wherever you are!
Beavers are easily underestimated. Between their big buck teeth, their strangely shaped tails and their status as a “rodent,” many people overlook their remarkable engineering skills and view them as a nuisance. Their plump, round bodies belie a tenacious work ethic that leads to the creation of wetlands and healthy riverine habitat that benefit diverse plant and animal life. The talents of humble beavers also include fighting wildfire, drought, and climate change. Compare the before and after pictures below of Maggie Creek, a tributary to the Humboldt River in Nevada, before (1980) and after (2011). In today’s drying landscapes, climate-exacerbated hazards like wildfire and drought are ravaging the West—making the region less hospitable to people and animals. Western wetlands have been reduced to just two percent of the land surface, while supporting around 80 percent of the area’s biodiversity. In the search for solutions, beavers are gaining a reputation as inexpensive firefighters and water storage engineers. Beavers’ dam-building capabilities can replenish a dry floodplain, similar to how a sponge soaks up water. Recent research has shown how beaver ponds support wet soils and green vegetation–even during periods of drought—that are less likely to burn during a wildfire and more capable of bouncing back afterward.
Beavers Builders
A rabbit and a beaver are looking up at the majesty of the Hoover Dam
And the beaver says to the rabbit
“Well I didn’t build it but it’s based on my design.”
There is a beaver in our local zoo who is quite the celebrity.
His name is Clint, Clint EatsWood.
My wife was surprised to hear that I actually enjoyed her punishment of making me sleeping on the sofa. I said that it made me feel manly, like I was camping.
…with a really angry bear somewhere close by.
A beaver is eating an ice cream, he has a sour look on his face.
“I wish I’d get to the stick already,” he mumbles to himself.
A beaver goes into a bar, sees a man standing behind the bar and asks,
“Is the bar tender here?”
November 3rd Birthdays
1953 – Kate Kapshaw, 1954 – Kathy Kinney, 1997 – Aria Wallace, 1950 – Anna Wintour
1918 – Bob Feller, 1989 – Agnus McClaren, 1953 – Dennis Miller, 1998 – Carson Rowland