I recently purchased this sign and thought it would be a cute addition to Habitat Home. While walking the trails this morning I spotted evidence of a beaver. I thought this little chopped down tree was interesting and a good example of what a beaver does.
But then as I walked further along the path, I came to this ....
The beaver or beavers are doing some damage here. Beavers are herbivores and will use just about any tree along our river corridor; willow, river birch, maple, cottonwood, sweet gum, black cherry, dogwood, and oak. The beaver is probably living in a burrow dug into the riverbank which is about 20 feet away. Beavers, the largest rodent in Illinois, were once almost extinct in Illinois. They were reintroduced in the 1930s and are now thriving. We could apply for a trapping permit as trapping is allowed from November through March. But we won't as it looks like we have lost the trees already. Maybe tonight we can watch him finishing the job!
I recently purchased this sign and thought it would be a cute addition to Habitat Home. While walking the trails this morning I spotted evidence of a beaver. I thought this little chopped down tree was interesting and a good example of what a beaver does.
But then as I walked further along the path, I came to this ....
The beaver or beavers are doing some damage here. Beavers are herbivores and will use just about any tree along our river corridor; willow, river birch, maple, cottonwood, sweet gum, black cherry, dogwood, and oak. The beaver is probably living in a burrow dug into the riverbank which is about 20 feet away. Beavers, the largest rodent in Illinois, were once almost extinct in Illinois. They were reintroduced in the 1930s and are now thriving. We could apply for a trapping permit as trapping is allowed from November through March. But we won't as it looks like we have lost the trees already. Maybe tonight we can watch him finishing the job!
by Catherine Zimmerman
by Douglas W. Tallamy
by Andy Wasowski and Sally Wasowski
by William Cullina 
by Michael R. Jeffords, Susan L. Post and Kenneth R. Robertson
by William Cullina
by Keith Gerard Nowakowski
by Guy Sternberg with Jim Wilson
by William Cullina
by Sara Stein
ed. by Cornelia F. Mutel and Stephen Packard; Society for Ecological Restoration
by Willard Clay and Robert Hutchinson
As long as they take those cottonwoods and not the anchoring river bank trees, friendly cohabitation is the rule.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like they don't always remember which tree they started on, and may severely damage many trees in search of the one(s) they want. So, Lex, hopefully they read your comment.
ReplyDelete