Jen’s Reviews > Beavers: Radical Rodents and Ecosystem Engineers > Status Update

Review to come closer to the pub date of May 11th. SUCH a good book!!

How can you give beavers a boost? Important information in here!

April 7th is International Beaver Day, missed it this year. Pout.

Beavers are a key part of the ecology and can help in water stewardship, which in this day and age, we BADLY need.

Don’t drink untreated water straight from a beaver pond. Giardia can live in beavers without affecting them, but it most definitely affects humans. Not deadly usually and treatable, and not the only way to get Giardia, but best to avoid that situation.

Wolves are a natural predator of beavers and beavers can’t tell the difference between a wolf and a dog, so keep your dog out of the water if there are beavers around, as beavers can and will attack the dog if they feel threatened. Good to know!

Beavers are the national animal of Canada and the state animal of Oregon and New York. And apparently Astor made his millions from trapping beavers for their fur. Gross.

“I’ve got a great idea! Let’s introduce beavers to South America, a place they have never lived so we can hunt them for their pelts!” “What about the environment? The plants haven’t adapted to the beavers, who greatly change their environment and they have no natural predators.” (Hand waves) “It’ll be fine, don’t worry!” (One ecological disaster later, not fine.)

Picture of Archibald Belaney hand feeding the TEENIEST beaver baby, it’s standing on a tree stump on its hind legs, is SO heart meltingly CUTE!!!

The beaver is Oregon’s state animal and is on the reverse side of their state flag, the only double sided state flag of the USA.