The Mighty Castor - part I

Castor canadensis that is.  
The North American Beaver to most of us.

Yes, this is the North America's largest rodent, smaller only to the famous capybara, Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris of South America and a tiny bit smaller than its Eurasian cousin Castor fiber.

This is the North American icon that, thanks to fur trade, has, not so long ago, been nearly wiped out.  

Can you imagine? What would Canada do without its national symbol? 


Thankfully the hard working, environmentally minded vegan has come back from the brink of extinction to, once again, build its dams and increase biodiversity everywhere it settles. 

It came back to selflessly slap the waters with its fatty paddle-shaped tail to warn everyone, furred, feathered or biped,  of a possible danger lurking about the dam. 
Everyone understands the meaning of Castor's hefty slap.

Those familiar with Grey Owl might get a drift that I am re-reading the book of his stories; for the third time. He was the one who, through his writing, brought attention to the near disappearance of the North American icon.
Each time I read his books I learn something else from the author who died just before the dawn of WW II. His stories written in 1933 speak volumes about Nature and about the nature of man. 
That's what prompted me to gather and post the photos I've been collecting for many years ....

I hardly know of a better type of relaxation than being out on a quiet lake or river when the sun sets and the world calms down. Stretched back in a kayak or a canoe and watching Nature as it follows its daily routine. 

Many, after a long day's hard work, are preparing for bed. Others are waking up and gearing for the dark night's shift. Beaver belong to the latter - they exit their lodges some twenty minutes after the last rays disappear beyond horizont . 

Gentle streams of bubbles can give them away as they exit their dwellings.

Swimming quite far away they will emerge to check things out.

If they discover a stranger in their neighbourhood they will swim closer zig-zagging back and forth in long and shallow curves, sniffing the air and watching for a sign of movement. 

Sometimes they will make a noiseless dive just to reappear somewhere else, maybe at a side of the boat or behind it, just floating on the surface as if they were a piece of dead driftwood. 

What a good exercise in patience, both the animal's, and the intruder's alike!

But a tiny movement or careless noise, ever so slight, will send the beaver into its famous slap mode. 

Boooom .... "....and everybody knows..." 

Beaver are made to swim! Their hind feet are webbed and propel the animal their tail serves as a rudder.

They are also made to work and they are amazingly ambidextrous.

Their front extremities function very much like our hands - if not better.  They can manipulate objects with finesse and it seems that they also use them for connecting with others, in a caring and caressing way.

They have very good senses of smell, hearing and eyesight. 

And when they dive they can close their nostrils and ears with special valves and they protect their eyes with an extra translucent eyelid-like membrane. 
It has a nasty latin name: nictitating membrane (meaning "blinking membrane).

Reading the Grey Owls's stories I was amazed to find out that the beavers did not like loud noises. He claimed that in a bustling city environment  his tame beavers closed their ear valves in order to shut off the traffic noise. 
What an appealing feature!

I have seen some amazing beaver photos; they show perfectly the entire face and body and include the famous tail. Well. It became clear that I am not one of those skilled nature photographers; for as hard as I try I have never managed a better photo of the beaver paddle-slapper than this. 

I am not sure how they manage to hide such a large body appendix but they always seem to either sit on it or fold it underneath the body - at least when I am around!

So when they ask me "Is this the best you can do?" the answer is "Yes!" Too bad. Rest assured that as soon as I get a great image of a beaver's tail I shall plaster it right underneath this one to brag and brag and brag. 

Until then ..... let them just use it as the fat reserve, balance tool, rudder and the world-renowned  warning device. 

Grooming is a very important part of  beaver's life. They spend hours carefully combing their fur and waterproofing it with oily substance produced by special oil glands.     

The oil is called .. castoreum. Surprised?

That, and a layer of fat should keep the beaver warm while swimming.

Castoreum has pleasant smell and, after mixing it with urine, the beaver use it to mark their territory

Now, just a question: would you dare to guess if people happen to have absolute and lifesaving need  for castoreum? According to the following .....

We have to gather castoreum in order to add it to perfumes (so next time you dab that perfume behind your ear or pour it all over, think about this).

We absolutely have to have it as a food additive and flavouring -  such as raspberry or strawberry (huh?) where it is labeled as "natural flavouring" (so next time you have your strawberry something think about this.) 

We also must have it to flavour cigarettes and we need it to make schnapps.  

And, we cannot be without it in medicine too; to treat headaches and hysteria. Thankfully that one seems to be a thing of the past. 

I am becoming hysterical just reading about this. That I did not learn from Grey Owl, that has been published  here ....     

So - back to grooming: 

With my kayak firmly wedged between stones and branches I watched this youngster to perform his grooming duties for quite a long time when a parent swam by - settled on a large stone just a few meters away and, unperturbed by my presence, followed the youngster's  suit.

Just then a speed boat roared by; sending high and powerful waves towards the shore. They nearly upset my kayak setting it free of its anchor and into a long and wild bobbing session. Nobody heard what I said and I am ashamed to repeat it. 

This was a small family of only 2 - somehow the number too low for a beaver family of August. There are usually Mom and Dad (mate for life) and two to six beaver kits born in late spring. So where was the rest of them?

It wasn't right away but on a later visit I discovered the explanation. 

By the size of the skeleton I guessed that it was the female (the beaver females are much larger than the males) who had been killed that year - by whom I do not know. Could be a cougar or a bear but by the hole in a skull it looks more like human works to me.
 A gun "hero" or a careless boat? 
The guess is not mine. 




Trapping and killing of the large females during the fur trade was the main cause of bringing the species to the brink of extinction. It is quite possible that this one was still nursing just before she was killed.

The orange incisors are self-sharpening and keep on growing non-stop. Beaver must use them so they do not overgrow - they have a tendency to grow in a circular fashion - therefore could damage beaver's skull.

I visited the two surviving beavers many times that season. They seemed not to mind.

They had their home on Kootenay River and instead of building a large lodge they dug it inside the river bank underneath an old alder tree. The bank rises high up and they had enough grasses and branches to collect there. Somehow their grass-cutting made the grasses grow denser, stronger and taller. 
It may well be that they are better gardeners than you and I.  

The beaver then could go on their branch collecting crusades; hidden and protected by a thick cover of lush greens. 
At the end of the summer there were well worn tunnels in that grass, all leading up to the woods of mixed aspen, poplar and birch.

Every day after sunset and all night long they would repeatedly climb the steep bank and return with armfuls of twigs.

 And all one could see in the falling twilight would be tall grasses swaying to and fro in the otherwise still environment.

Upon their return each time they would settle by the river and dip their bounty in the water then deftly grab a twig and turning and washing and turning again they would proceed to chop it with their huge, ever growing incisors. 

It would all look and sound like an efficient food processor at work. And it would take just as little time before the twig was gone.

Hunched amongst the stones they always looked like large, dark  boulders and, many a time, I carelessly paddled too close to a feeding animal before a mad dash and a wild slap let me know of my mistake.

These were the beaver of Kootenay River but there are many more about - in lakes and swamps and other rivers where, just like us, they utilize their environment to build their lodges and homes. 

Gerrard Trout - Oncorhynchus spp.

Yes, it is that time of the year again. Gerrard Trout are spawning. It was my very first entry a couple years ago where I introduced these gigantic trout. 

Once again they've undergone their journey between Kootenay and Trout Lake.  For the next three or four weeks they shall occupy the the spot where the aquamarine waters of Lardeau River spill out of this large glacier lake.

This is a part of the river during the runoff of the last year. Many raging creeks have joined the river, crystal clear at other times, it is now brown with silt and mud.
But check out the following photo, taken on the same day, close to Trout lake from where the river departs.
The turquoise waters are Lardeau River, the muddy ones are from Mobbs Creek; the first of many tributaries that come hurtling down from the snow laden slopes..

Gerrard trout do not enter the muddy creek.
It is the clean, gravelly river bottom of Trout Lake that they seek during their spawn. One can watch them from a bridge; arriving and positioning, males chasing away their rivals, females searching for the best spots in which to build their redds. It is here, only here and nowhere else in the world that they will spawn.

On my first visit of April 30th , 2014 there were about 500-700 of these magnificent fish. 

\

The setting sun illuminated the rainbow of colours
that gave these fish their name.

They have arrived in mid-April. They will stay until the second part of May. They will reproduce, but unlike salmon they will not die after their spawn. Leaving their fertilized roe hidden in the gravelly bottom of the headwaters of Lardeau River they will return to Kootenay Lake to continue feeding on kokanee salmon. 

They might return next May ... and the next one and the next. Their lifespan is about 8 years. Meanwhile they will grow into very large rainbow trout, the largest in the world, the record weight being 23 kg - read more here.

The fish Olympics have begun. In the water they fight for females. But they also leap out of water, high and far, ending their airborne journey with tremendous splashes. 
Why they do that is still a question - some say that they want to shake off parasites, some think that it is for another, not yet fully understood reason. 

Where there are egg-laying fish there are also others interested in nutritious meals. At this time of the year it is a squad of Common Mergansers,  Mergus merganser, patrolling the river. 

On a calm day they can be seen diving next to the big fish - they may be searching either for the trout eggs and /or for the little creatures disturbed by the fish. Probably for both.

They are shaped like torpedoes and they are just as FAST. It makes me wonder - how can they notice anything at that speed .... ?

Save the mergansers there are no other water birds at the headwaters of Lardeau River this year so far. 

Maybe they are all nesting in the nearby swamps or they have not yet arrived. 

Only the merganser quintet is constantly checking the fast, cold, crystal clear waters between the lake and the first tributary of the river that spills out of it.. 

There are others reaping the benefits of the season.  Three Bald Eagles, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, live in the area and on the day I photographed this one they were all fighting over something on boulder strewn river bank. Two of them took off but this one stood its ground. 
When it became clear that my camera lens does not spit out bullets it resumed eating its sushi. 
Yes, it was a very large Gerrard Trout that the eagles were feeding on. 

Who knows what tragedy met the trout - perhaps it was overcome by its own kind and succumbed to its wounds. Or it might have carelessly detoured to the rocky edge where a furry animal ended its life.

As for myself, I would place my bet on the ever vigilant eagle patrol.

It is May 16th and the spawn is coming to its end. Snow is melting and the creeks are full, water in the lake must have risen by half a meter since our previous visit only a couple of days ago.

About 150 fish are still running and they still jump. But as the water level rises the fish have more space and less competition so the jumps are spaced out and it is really difficult to photograph them in the air. 

The spectacle is coming to an end.

Beautiful Lardeau River will now return to its own ways. It will threaten the valley by swollen waters, then subside during the hot and lazy summer months. September will bring a different kind of splashing when the red kokanee salmon arrive for their spawn. For Gerrard trout however we have to wait another year.

Black Bear - Ursus americanus

It is Spring in Southern British Columbia. The Yellow Glacier Lilies, Erythronium grandiflorum, have sprung from their bulbs; the sure sign that the Black Bears will follow. They will come out of their dens and, taking it easy, they will start digging for the starchy bulbs. 

Their appetite will eventually grow to its full potential but after such a long winter sleep there is nothing better than a gentle vegetarian diet to make the digestive juices flow.

Surely, if they happen to find a winter kill they will not turn their noses up. But such treasures are not as common, and besides, competition for all that protein might be great. Which means that it will not last long.

So bulbs and roots of the spring are the starters for the season.

Western Skunk Cabbage or Yellow Skunk Cabbage, Lysichiton americanus is another plant of the Spring. Its yellow blossoms come up in the swamps and wet areas of the valley bottoms giving out a strangely unpleasantly-pleasant smell. It does remind one of a skunk but if I had to choose, I would go for the plant. They stink to attract pollinating flies and other insects but the smell also attracts bears. They like to eat the roots that are said to have have medicinal properties and  that bears seek them out in order to clean their digestive system that had been idle for several months of winter hibernation.




People seem to have fascination with bears because, in many ways, they behave like us. 
They are resourceful, curious and cunning, they can solve problems and, if unprovoked, mostly tolerant towards our species.  
Unfortunately, just like people, there are some are predatory troublemakers who give a bad name to the rest of their kin.

The bears can sneak up on us, without us ever seeing them (what might give them away is their smell.) 



Another thing that makes them so "human" is their habit of standing up on their hind legs - being flat footed they really do take on that semi-human appearance when they rear up and look about to figure out what's going on. 

The above photo of favourite photo a cub and its feet is one of my favourite images. Don't ask me why.

A black bear Mom is totally dedicated to her cub or cubs. There could be only one but often there are two or three or even four. In a loving but strict manner she will patiently teach them everything she knows. There are no buts or whys; she knows better than anyone that the cub's (or cubs') survival depends on discipline.

And she will protect it (or them) even if it means putting her life at stake. 

Another plant they love to eat is Common Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale. I told you that the bears were smart! Dandelions do have medicinal properties and they are finally becoming known for that. 

For decades people were killing those plants with carcinogenic herbicides instead of using them in salads, making cough syrup or drying the roots for teas. Meanwhile the bears were seeking them as an important part of their diets. Tongue in cheek but true.

Black bears got their common name from - being black. Although predominant, black is not the only colour in their gene pool to show. They say that the bears in Eastern parts of the continent are mostly black - more westwardly one goes, better chances to find brown. cinnamon, or even white bears - all being "black" bear, Ursus americanus. 
Long live Latin names!

Saskatoon Berry

 Bears are mostly vegetarian and it is interesting to see how their diet progresses during the seasons.

It changes from digging the spring roots and bulbs to grasses and poplar buds to munching dandelions - flowers and leaves at first, and then, later on, the seeds; all kinds of seeds until the berries ripen in the woods (or in human gardens).

Bear Berry, Wild Currant, Twisted stalk berry, mushrooms .... just a few of wild foods on the ursine menu.

 Though 80 or maybe even more % vegetarian, they are no vegans: on the contrary: any young or wounded animal can be their prey, They are strong and fast - a "clumsy bear" can run as fast as a horse. They are good hunters. An unguarded fawn, or one of its cousins, would be a great addition to the bear's diet. 

Bears are omnivores, just like us.

Bears love to eat ants - every year, especially in spring, we find the large ant hills torn apart by the powerful claws. 

Wood Ants, Formica rufa

This bear insisted on inspecting the railway tracks in Yoho N.P.

At first we were not sure why it chose the location - until someone enlighten us - there is a lot of wheat being transported by trains from the prairies to the ports of the West Coast. 
Some of the grain finds its way out of the train and onto the tracks.The ever resourceful bears make sure it does not go to waste.

Black bears often visit places occupied by humans - Spring and Fall being the most preferred seasons. 

Spring, because since there is not much to find in the wild,  

Autumn, because there are delicious apples and plums in human orchards.

Also, I am sorry to say, there is always garbage around the human dwellings.

It is wise to keep the places clean  and it is also wise not to underestimate bear's ability to open whatever it is that it decides to open. This flimsy setup was no match for a hungry bear. Should we call a "conservation" officer and have the bear shot?  Whose fault was it that the animal was snooping about?

How about a thorough cleanup and a trip to a garbage dump so the ambidexter has no reason to come back.



That's why the Park people came up with this idea: 
a bear-proof garbage disposal that nowadays graces every rest stop along the Canadian and American roads.

I know that the locals are familiar with the idea but I always
get questions from our overseas guests: What is that?
Now they know.

Bears will happily explore all possibilities - these pails of asphalt looked promising. It was no big deal for the bear to quietly open some of them to see what's inside. No crobar needed, thank you very much.

Since the edibility was questionable the bear decided to partially paint the driveway before it took its leave to look for something else.

It would have paid off to not to rush the prep work and leave the pails in the garage until the morning. Live and learn!

Interactions with bears can be risky. Unless you are Charlie Russel they will run away. Or they will not. If they stand their ground they are not afraid  and they might attack. Or they might not. They might bluff charge. Or they might not.
They might be pretending to look at something far away or to feed or to casually walk away.  Don't let them fool you.  Be wise and be prepared. Have your pepper spray handy, do not run (easy to say) and above all gather all the knowledge you can before venturing into the bear country. there is a lot of information out there:  http://www.bearaware.bc.ca/




I was in a small truck with a young lady visitor when we met this bear. It was about hundred meters away, feeding on dandelions. We pulled off the highway and stopped in a small flat area just by the road. The bear did not seem to mind and we sat, motionless, inside - windows open and our cameras, equipped with 300mm lenses clicking away. All of a sudden the bear stopped feeding, the hair on its neck went up, the ears began to flatten back. We were far enough (and motionless) from its patch of dandelions; we were silent, the engine was off.  So why was the bear agitated? It started to walk towards us and we did not need any lessons in body language - the bear was really crossed with us. Then it dawned on me: my companion, being a girl of 18 and from the biggest city on the planet, was heavily drenched in perfume!
Close the window! Quick!
Lock the door!
The bear walked all the way to the front tire, stood there for a long while, ears flattened back, hair standing up, obviously thinking what to do next. 
Since nothing moved it walked away in disgust, still fully ready to turn back. 
We, already turning blue, exhaled. Lesson learned. Bears dislike strong smells like perfumes or other human odours. And they are right - leave the nasty chemicals at home - I too, like the bear, was sick of that perfume.


This black bear was guarding its dandelion patch making it obvious that it would not be a good idea to get any closer than we already were when we surprised it. It did bluff charged to make sure that we left the area. There are no jokes when the food is involved.

Carry the bear spray and do make noise!

Though they mostly mind their bear business, once in a while we hear about bear attacks. We can probably find percentages of ..... predatory, defensive, protective and so on. It was not until about a couple of decades ago that Dr. Stephen Herrero did a thorough analysis: it is a gruesome but truthful reading that should make people think ..... it seems to me, that, save for a few, there is always some human factor in those stories. 

And, of course, those who want to know a lot about the bears know the work of Charlie Russel, the man who helped to change many peoples' attitudes towards the bruins.

I have not met a fellow European who came to North America and weren't fascinated by bears. 
Some more, some less, some positively, some the other way. 
But, just like I, they all like to exchange stories of "all the bears I've met..."

The bears of my European youth (now way half the century past) were always portrayed as bloodthirsty, meat ripping animals that needed to be hunted down and shot. The hunters were great heroes, no matter how they killed the bear.

Thank goodness that attitude is slowly changing and thanks to many dedicated people many of us understand  the biology of the bears much better. 

The hero-hunter stories of the past make us now grimace in disgust and a dusty fireplace rug and a stuffed animal in the hallway reminds us of an unnecessary death.


Still, each time we return for a short visit to the "old" continent, we get a request or two: 
"Would you host my .... son, grandson....someone ...he would so much love to shoot (to harvest) a bear".  Not observe, not photograph but kill. I am serious.
(Stop calling it "a harvest", please.)

Turn hundred and eighty degrees towards the other parts of the globe and have a look. 
I spent a year in Beijing (one of many such places) where the health stores were offering pickled snakes,  lizards and bats and who knows whats, along with bear gallbladder wine, bear gallbladder powder .... bear this and bear that .....
I do know of cholic acid and all that. But the modern medicine has arrived a while ago .... I remeber to be so outraged in that city, void of nature that all I wanted to do was to break the shop window and scream: Come'on guys - have you not heard about Viagra yet? STOP killing MY bears! 
Our bears, I should say. It was a powerful and hopeless feeling that I will never forget.

But whom am I pointing a finger at? They pay - we cater. Money talks to many. So sad.

We found two dead bears in November 2010 - this one looks like a grizzly bear.
We reported the find, what happened after is unknown to us.

There are many young people who understand and wish to protect nature and they work very hard at it. 
After being badly slaughtered the European wildlife seems to be creeping back. I am not sure about the rest of the world. There is a strong young movement towards protection of Nature in many countries - unfortunately for each hundred environmentally minded souls there is always the bloodthirsty or money-greedy one .... that's enough: damage done.

So here: a Yellow Glacier Lily for all the bears I've met ..... most of whom (as I know for a fact) are no longer around despite the fact that each one of them could roam the countryside for twenty or more years.