[NatureNS] beaver - size estimation

References: <BE20011C928B4CC38A2D1CEBD6F14ABF@bernard>
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:47:29 -0300 (ADT)
From: bdigout@seaside.ns.ca
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
User-Agent: SquirrelMail/1.4.13
Importance: Normal
Precedence: bulk
Return-Path: <naturens-mml-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>
Original-Recipient: rfc822;"| (cd /csuite/info/Environment/FNSN/MList; /csuite/lib/arch2html)"

next message in archive
next message in thread
previous message in archive
previous message in thread
Index of Subjects

<a href="../200809/12811.html">next 
Very well said, Ron.
Billy


> Hello,
>
> The descriptions provided thus far strongly suggest beaver.  Muskrats, as
> suggested earlier, typically eat herbaceous marsh plants (unlike beavers
> and
> porcupine, they also eat animal protein) as opposed to woody plants,
> rarely
> leaving marshes for purposes of feeding.
>
> Porcupines would likely not hesitate to eat rose bushes, but unlike the
> case
> described, they make a rather ragged cut, not the clean cut described
> here.
>
> As for the size of the animal, adult beaver teeth average about 6 mm.  The
> 3.75 mm suggests a sub adult animal.  Beavers in their second summer often
> wander away from their family group (although they may return to spend the
> winter in their natal den).  This would fit well with the size of the
> gnawing marks observed and the fact that the location where this feeding
> occurred does not appear to harbour a permanent beaver population.
>
> My 2 cents worth.
>
> Ron Arsenault
> Memramcook, N.B.
>
> 2008/9/22 <bdigout@seaside.ns.ca>
>
>> Hi Steve,
>>  I'm not sure about spacing of teeth, but normally you can estimate the
>> size of the beaver by the height of cuts on the trees, or in this case
>> the alders.   Beavers often cut trees while propped up on their hind
>> feet, using their tail for balance.  If the cuts are close to two feet
>> high or more, you have a large beaver. I hope that helps.
>> Billy
>>
>>  > Hi again Billy, or anyone else,
>> > As an afterthought on a recent reply from me about this, could an
>> > experienced
>> > woodsman tell the approximate size of the beast from the spacing of
>> its
>> > gnaw
>> > marks?  Somebody must have looked into this in the past.
>> >
>> > One of the diagonally cut alder stems had 8 fairly parallel gnaw
>> marks.
>> > These
>> > were not fully regular (each was not the exact same width), but they
>> were
>> > spaced on average 3.75 millimeters apart (a bit over 1/8 inch, more
>> like
>> > 5/64"
>> > if you prefer inches).
>> > Would that be a little beaver or a big sucker?
>> > Steve, Halifax
>> >
>> >
>> > Quoting bdigout@seaside.ns.ca:
>> >>    Earlier, I sent a reply indicating beaver...  If Chocolate Lake
>> was
>> >> in
>> >> Cape Breton, then beaver would have been the only choice; since we
>> >> have no porcupines.
>> >>   Because only muskrat and beaver were mentioned, was there any
>> >> indication the culprit came from the water, or was there no visible
>> >> sign of directionality?
>> >> Billy
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Ronald G. Arsenault
> Memramcook, N.B.
>


next message in archive
next message in thread
previous message in archive
previous message in thread
Index of Subjects