Beavers too eager for them. Many in suburbs fretting as beavers build wildly

[Ian David]

By Javier C. Hernandez, Globe Correspondent | June 28, 2007

ANDOVER -- In the midst of the Great Depression, beavers were so scarce in Massachusetts after years of unrestricted hunting that the state was forced to acquire three from New York to revive their presence. Now the number of buck-toothed, tree-chomping rodents is exploding across the state, with beavers causing flooded backyards and munching their way through local forests.

Wildlife specialists said the state's beaver population has tripled in the last decade to an estimated 70,000 to 80,000. The boom coincides with a record number of complaints about Castor canadensis.

As residential sprawl yet again pits human against animal, the large rodents have sparked territorial battles in cranberry bogs in the southeastern part of the state, near wetlands in Western Massachusetts, and in neighborhoods across the Merrimack Valley and the North Shore.

While there have been scattered reports of beaver problems around the state over the past several years, Alan French, who heads the Andover-based Bay Circuit Alliance, a coalition of state and local landowners -- said the dams showing up in the Andover area this year are the biggest he has ever seen .

More:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/06/28/beavers_too_eager_for_them/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+City%2FRegion+News

See also:

http://www.youtube.com/player2.swf?hl=en&video_id=iPbL8px8W50&l=123&t=OEgsToPDskKFynJS4-gzo96sl3VAQXnb&soff=1&sk=faPwq17iFyZIU-qJ0-rRTgC

[MichiganVote]

1. I've been to Andover. Beavers are rodents???

[TheWraith]

10. Technically, yes, but not in the way most people think.

They belong the the scientific family of rodents, but that's a large group, which also includes squirrels, woodchucks, prairie dogs, and chipmunks. Their relation to, say, rats or mice is pretty distant. Rodents comprise 42% of all mammal species.

[MichiganVote]

11. My husband says they are the biggest rat of the rodent family.(not Karl Rove afterall)

[Botany]

2. Go Beavers

[independentpiney]

3. Seconded- Go Beavers! n/t

[MikeNearMcChord]

6. And congratulations to the Oregon State Beavers

for winning their 2nd College World Series Championship! Sorry the devil made me do it!:evilgrin:

[JeffR]

4. New housing starts have been declining

the beavers are just trying to rally the economy.

[soothsayer]

5. I wonder why there's such a boom. Lack of predators?

[One_Life_To_Give]

7. Trapping and Hunting Bans

So yes it is a lack of predators, the two legged kind. Mass enacted a ban on all but "Hav-A-Heart" traps a few years back.

Since then the population has grown substantially, the numbers of certain species of trees has fallen. Power lines have had major problems from falling trees etc. Coyote's are making a comeback but not in enough numbers to solve the problem and besides Cats and Dogs are easier prey.

[Ian David]

9. Surely, there is something out there that can lick the beaver problem,

[The2ndWheel]

8. Reminds me of Arrested Development

Clint Howard as an environmentalist camped out in a tree trying to save it, and Lindsay Funke reminding him that beavers destroy trees too, and that he should maybe go club some beavers. He falls in love with her, he leaves the tree, but he's dirty and gross, and the tree ends up being cut down for new houses. Good show.