This video was made for me by Mark, from pictures found on
my trail camera at the bear tree on October 23, 2015:
At that time, I assumed that the bears would soon all
be in hibernation and that the camera at the bear tree would be unproductive.
See the Catch of the Day message of October 25/15. I was wrong however, as when the
camera was finally brought home for the winter on November 18th, , its memory card showed that a bear had visited the tree just the day before, on
November 17th. Perhaps they came even later, after I had removed the camera.
Lars
Comment:
It is so interesting to see these beavers at work, Lars. We had quite a population living near our cottage for a while. I would encounter them when I went out in my canoe at night, their presence made known by the resounding smack of a tail. They started working on poplars along the shore from our cottage, on the opposite side of a wee bay that separated the shore from our little rocky point. One night I paddled into the bay, much to the annoyance of one very busy beaver.
It swam back out into the lake on the outer side the point and patrolled back and forth, giving strident "smacks" at intervals. I just sat there quietly. Eventually the beaver abandoned his patrol and swam back to shore where it had been working. To my delight, it commenced nibbling branches (as one would a cob of corn) right near me. It wasn't even disturbed when I shone a light to watch it. I guess it finally decided I wasn't any threat.
During many canoeing encounters with beavers, I found I could follow their progress underwater by the trail of air bubbles that percolated to the surface. On at least two occasions one swam directly under my canoe! That's what happened in this next account.
Along a lonely shore opposite our place and much farther along, there was a giant slab of rock resting against the shore, no doubt fallen from the high land above. In my mind's eye it was roughly square and approximately 20' across but lying askew (diamond shape) with one corner projecting into the water and wide corners projecting to either side along the shore. One day as a gentle breeze slowly drifted me in my canoe along this shore, I noticed a large array of sticks jammed in on either side of this giant rock. Realizing what I was seeing, I reached out and grasped the rock just as I was almost clear of it, pulled the canoe back along it to near midpoint and just sat there to take it all in. Within moments I heard strange moaning murmurs coming from within. Before long, I heard the sound of disturbed water underneath the rock. The next second I saw tiny eruptions of bubbles as a beaver emerged from below and swam beneath my canoe. I can't recall whether or not it surfaced before swimming back into its "cave home", but I guess it was checking me out. I revisited that site several times, always enjoying the sounds that came from within. Then one time (perhaps another year?) I found the home had been decimated, the sticks at the side all torn away. Every once in a while beavers were trapped out of the lake. Sadly I suspect that's what happened to this family.
Vivienne Rattray-Eaton
January 27, 2016
Comment:
It is so interesting to see these beavers at work, Lars. We had quite a population living near our cottage for a while. I would encounter them when I went out in my canoe at night, their presence made known by the resounding smack of a tail. They started working on poplars along the shore from our cottage, on the opposite side of a wee bay that separated the shore from our little rocky point. One night I paddled into the bay, much to the annoyance of one very busy beaver.
It swam back out into the lake on the outer side the point and patrolled back and forth, giving strident "smacks" at intervals. I just sat there quietly. Eventually the beaver abandoned his patrol and swam back to shore where it had been working. To my delight, it commenced nibbling branches (as one would a cob of corn) right near me. It wasn't even disturbed when I shone a light to watch it. I guess it finally decided I wasn't any threat.
During many canoeing encounters with beavers, I found I could follow their progress underwater by the trail of air bubbles that percolated to the surface. On at least two occasions one swam directly under my canoe! That's what happened in this next account.
Along a lonely shore opposite our place and much farther along, there was a giant slab of rock resting against the shore, no doubt fallen from the high land above. In my mind's eye it was roughly square and approximately 20' across but lying askew (diamond shape) with one corner projecting into the water and wide corners projecting to either side along the shore. One day as a gentle breeze slowly drifted me in my canoe along this shore, I noticed a large array of sticks jammed in on either side of this giant rock. Realizing what I was seeing, I reached out and grasped the rock just as I was almost clear of it, pulled the canoe back along it to near midpoint and just sat there to take it all in. Within moments I heard strange moaning murmurs coming from within. Before long, I heard the sound of disturbed water underneath the rock. The next second I saw tiny eruptions of bubbles as a beaver emerged from below and swam beneath my canoe. I can't recall whether or not it surfaced before swimming back into its "cave home", but I guess it was checking me out. I revisited that site several times, always enjoying the sounds that came from within. Then one time (perhaps another year?) I found the home had been decimated, the sticks at the side all torn away. Every once in a while beavers were trapped out of the lake. Sadly I suspect that's what happened to this family.
Vivienne Rattray-Eaton
January 27, 2016
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