In more pleasant Wildlife (and Van Ness Metro) News baby beaver rescued!

75°

Rain

by Prince Of Petworth May 6, 2016 at 10:05 am 9 Comments

beaver
screenshot of youtube clip filmed by Jonathan Murray

Thanks to a reader for sending:

“But, in adorable news, it looks like DC police and humane officers rescued an adorable juvenile beaver from a fountain outside the Van Ness Metro Station on Wednesday:

WTOP reported:

“after some discussion and a little evaluation, it was decided the beaver was in good condition and old enough to be on its own, so it was released — to a quieter, wilder corner of the District.”

marybindc

“so it was released — to a quieter, wilder corner of the District.”

North Michigan Park?
https://www.popville.com/2016/05/screaming-fox-dc/

(sorry, I couldn’t pass it up!)
2k10

Cute and congratulations to that person for not getting bitten, otherwise it would have led to a need to euthanize the animal to test for rabies. Also, beaver teeth are sharp and powerful enough to cut down trees, imagine what it could do to your muscle and tendons if scared.
Shawnnnnnn

I seriously had no idea beavers lived in DC. As a gay man, that irony is not lost on me.
- textdoc
  
  LOL!
John Fubka

There are beavers in Rock Creek Park at the confluence of Piney Branch and Rock Creek.
Matt

Growing up in suburban VA, our two short haired pointers got into a tangle with an adult beaver. The wounds were horrifying and the beaver nearly drowned one of the dogs. Knowing that, I feel like if I found this little guy, he would be living in my bathtub and gnawing on chopsticks for fun.
FriendofBeaver

This beaver looks way too young and small to have been released on its own. Beavers live with their parents until they are two years old, at which point they are full grown (30-ish pounds). The parents teach their young how to build dams, lodges, eat bark, and protect itself from predators. The young also take on an apprenticeship type role, helping maintain dams and caring for younger siblings. This beaver’s family might have been killed or they were separated during the big thunderstorm on Monday. It should have been taken to a rescue to receive care and assimilation with another family. NO way this little guy should have been released. Just the fact that it is cozying up to humans (per the video) means that it is too young to survive on its own. Very sad.
- textdoc
  
  I too was wondering if it was really old enough to be released on its own — a week or so ago, I was watching an interesting PBS documentary on beavers, and it mentioned the same things about beaver parents teaching their young important skills.
  .
  Apparently the beaver couldn’t be taken in by a wildlife rehabilitation center because (for some bizarre reason) MARYLAND’s laws apply to beavers in the District, and Maryland considers beavers nuisance animals that are to be euthanized rather than rehabilitated.
  .
  I think the Washington Post coverage said that Animal Control made an effort to release the baby beaver in an area where beavers had been sighted before. So I’m hoping he makes his way back to his family, or that another set of beaver parents is willing to “adopt” him. (I think there was a case in the documentary where a beaver family adopted a lone adolescent beaver.)
  - textdoc
    
    I think it must’ve been a rerun of this episode:
    http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/leave-it-to-beavers-leave-it-to-beavers/8836/

Subscribe to our mailing list