Delta Journal
by Bob Thomas

There was a time in the 1960s when naturalists were excited to discover more and more beaver spoor (sign) appearing further south in Louisiana. During the 1940s and 1950s, many beaver (Castor canadaninses) were captured and relocated all over the state. Following a period of adjustment, the species has established many healthy colonies.

Though they are not shown on distribution maps to occur south of Lake Pontchartrain, they have invaded the Greater New Orleans area and have become urban fringe dwellers. During a Bonnet Carré flood gate opening, an adult was seen grooming itself on a log in the middle of the flooded spillway. Specimens have been caught in and near the Mississippi River from Waggaman and Avondale to New Orleans.

Best known as a fat little rodent with a cute face and a broad, flat tail, the beaver is one of the most widely distributed mammals in North America. As in all rodents, they must gnaw almost constantly in order to prevent excessive growth of their incisors. If they are prevented from doing so, their front teeth may grow around and pierce the skull in the top of the mouth. This problem normally results in death by starvation or direct penetration of the brain.

Though young beaver can be quite vocal with little purrs and mews, adults are only infrequently heard making sounds. Their most celebrated sound is the alarm slap on the water surface that alerts their chums to possible danger.

Beaver in the South have slightly different housing requirements than their northern cousins. They tend to build smaller dams in more sluggish streams and often nest in holes in the bank rather than constructing wooden lodges.

Almost every land owner becomes excited when he first sees beaver on his property. Their gnawing of trees, either cutting them entirely or girdling them, soon changes the mood. Small bands of beaver have been known to denude stream-sides and to indiscriminately strip the margins of ponds and lakes.

The next time you see a wild beaver, tilt your hat, but don’t be tempted to bring it home. More than one person has ended up with a three-legged chair or a hole in a door!