Free Range Photography

Sightings of the American Beaver have been slowly increasing on the South Fork of the Eel, but are still rare enough that when I saw one, swimming in the river at some distance, for the first time last May I at first assumed it was an otter until I checked the back of my camera and saw the huge ears and Roman nose. On closer inspection I saw the mud-encrusted snout and was filled with excitement to see this extraordinary creature whose beneficial influence on the health of waterways is well known, virtually right in my own backyard.

American Beaver or North American River Otter?

After spotting the Beaver and sharing my excitement, a few skeptical friends asked me how I knew it wasn’t the much more commonly seen North American River Otter. The beaver is a member of the rodent family and even though all I saw was its head before it dove under water not to be seen again, the head shape is not at all like the that of the otter who is a member of the weasel family. Beavers are vegetarians and otters are fierce hunters of anything living in the water and occasionally will take small mammals on land. Below you can compare the two when all you see is the head above water, concealing the well-known flat tail and chunky body of the beaver and the sleek torso and long tapered tail of the otter.

At a distance, of course, with only the head showing above the water line, it’s easy to mistake one for the other, so watch for other signs like the tail seen while diving or the slower, more floaty swimming pace of the beaver. Have you seen beavers locally or elsewhere? I’m told they can be quite calm around humans. There are reports of dams at a couple South Fork locations, and others have had sightings or seen tracks or other sign. The return of this natural-born habitat-steward is a great sign for our river!