Re: [Paddlewise] Close encounters of the beaver kind

I was paddling a small flooded tributary of the Connecticut River yesterday
when a mother and cub beaver plopped into the water on the opposite bank.  I
stopped and waited.  The cub vanished (into floatsam along the bank I think)
but mom surfaced 30 feet or so in front of me and just lay in the water,
perpendicular to my line of travel.  I stayed where I was and after a minute
or two she turned and swam directly toward me, taking up a position 5 or 6
feet off my bow, again broadside.  After two or three minutes of this, she
swam to the center of the creek, did a pro-forma tail-slap dive, and
disappeared.

I assume she was trying to decoy me away from the cub and when I didn't
chase her, she figured I was myopic (I was wearing glasses) and moved in to
be sure I got a good look. When that produced no reaction, she decided I was
an herbivore and left.

Of course, that is pure speculation, she might just have been curious, or
for that matter, maybe it was a responsible dad beaver.  How do you tell?
(on second thought, never mind, that's definitely off-topic and potentially
off-color). Any one else seen this kind of thing? Any beaver behaviorists
out there?

Clark Bowlen



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