# beaver behavior--rabid maybe?



## Mrs. Weasly (Jul 31, 2009)

Hi all,

Just wondering if you experienced hunters/trappers could help me out. This afternoon I spotted a beaver swimming around my small pond seemingly without a care in the world. I approached the pond, the beaver clearly saw me, and was completely unafraid. When I shot at it (and missed, the first time), it dove briefly, resurfaced and continued paddling along.

I know beavers can carry rabies, and the fearlessness I thought was odd, but haven't been able to find much about "normal" beaver behavior in daylight hours. Any insights?

Thanks,
MW


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## Ray (Dec 5, 2002)

So, why are you killing beavers out of season? , just askin ray


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## Mrs. Weasly (Jul 31, 2009)

Ray said:


> So, why are you killing beavers out of season? /QUOTE]
> 
> In NYS you can take "nuisance" beaver out of season with a special permit.


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## copperkid3 (Mar 18, 2005)

Mrs. Weasly said:


> Ray said:
> 
> 
> > So, why are you killing beavers out of season? /QUOTE]
> ...


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## Mrs. Weasly (Jul 31, 2009)

Here's the relevant section of NYS EnCon Law (Section 11-0521): 

2. The department may, by permit issued to a landowner, permit such
landowner, and any person he may designate in writing as his agent, to
take beaver on lands owned by the permittee, during any specified
period, in any specified number, and by any specified means,
notwithstanding the provision contained in paragraph d of subdivision 3
of section 11-0901 or any other provision of the Fish and Wildlife Law.
Beaver so taken shall be disposed of as the department may direct.


Any info on typical daytime (vs. potentially rabid) beaver behavior?


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## farmerDale (Jan 8, 2011)

Back to the beaver behaviour. Sounds to me he simply has not been shot at or bothered by humans, until now. They can act pretty tame when not familiar with human danger. Once they get educated on human danger, they can et VERY, VERY, wary.


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

I would say it is odd, but a bonus for you since you need to shoot it. Usually they come out at dusk and go back towards sunup. You sure it wasn't a muskrat? They are dumber than a beaver and show up in daytime more often.


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## Mrs. Weasly (Jul 31, 2009)

farmerDale said:


> Back to the beaver behaviour. Sounds to me he simply has not been shot at or bothered by humans, until now. They can act pretty tame when not familiar with human danger. Once they get educated on human danger, they can et VERY, VERY, wary.


Thanks farmerDale. Appreciate the info.


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## rean (Nov 18, 2008)

We had one show up on our place. Nearest waterway was 1/2 mile away. We had a female blue tick **** hound pup that found the beaver in the barn. Got it cornered, and the beaver bit through the chest of the pup. The pup died on the way to the vet. One of the teeth nicked an artery. It was and still is very sad.


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## Micheal (Jan 28, 2009)

So you "missed" the first shot, :hair most likely took a 2nd or even a 3rd? :shrug: Did ya finally hit it and get it out of the pond (or not); then what??? Did ya bury it, skin it, eat it, let it sink to the bottom? Come on now, don't leave the story hanging....... :nono: :icecream:


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## Chuck R. (Apr 24, 2008)

In my experience if theyâre young and not used to humans they can be pretty stupid. This time of year is when the young usually move out of the mothers den and head downstream to find a new home. Theyâre pretty territorial, so theyâll keep moving till they find a spot without another beaver, or a single beaver of the opposite sex. Then theyâll go right to work modifying their environment by building a lodge and damming up whatever running water they can find. While theyâre pretty destructive in the spring, the worst is a displaced one in the fall because they go into overtime to cut down enough food to last the winter. 

When we first bought our property I trapped and shot 23 of them that invaded our 9 acre pond in about 4 years. It seems like every spring we get 2 or 3 that move in. Weâve been âbeaver freeâ for the past 2 years now though. KS has the same law; they must be taken in season, right up until theyâre a nuisance and they usually achieve that status about 20 minutes after they get into your pond. 

They are very adaptive, you can get a couple at dusk/dawn then theyâll become completely nocturnal. Usually when theyâre frightened theyâll give a good âtail slapâ as they dive under. While shooting works, traps are way more efficient. Try to find someone that knows what theyâre doing to teach you, because they can become trap wise pretty quickly once you get a ânear missâ or belly pinch one in a leg hold. I had an old dominant male one year that literally weaved his way through a daisy chain set of leg hold traps to put a sent mound right next to the artificial sent mound I put down to attract him; just to let me know he was thereâ¦â¦. I then spent a few nights out with a decent moon before I could get a shot at him. 

Chuck


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## farmerDale (Jan 8, 2011)

Well stated, Chuck R. A very accurate assessment on the beaver.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

That's just normal beaver behavior.

This is the time of the year when the 2 yr olds get kicked out of the house to make room for the newborns. They wander around until they find a place to live.

I once trapped the same beaver 3 times before I was able to drown it. That happened in a couple of weeks. I trapped another beaver twice in the same week.

Why don't you want it in the pond? Unless it was threatening the dam I would just make some adjustments to let it stay. Wrap the trees with hardware cloth and if it's causing flooding I'd build a Clemson Leveler to control the water level.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> In my experience if they&#8217;re* young *and not used to humans they can be pretty stupid.


I think that's the right answer


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## Ryan NC (Jan 29, 2009)

My experiances are nailed to a T by chuck, the younger ones less than 2 years tend to be very mild manored, they normally slap their tail at you before they dive... and just in general make a fool of you at times. I've had them watch me set the trap that ended up being their undoing. The are inquisitive critters and don't tend to be scared of people off the get go unless the people have tried to harm them.


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## Mrs. Weasly (Jul 31, 2009)

Thanks everyone. 
Sorry, Michael-- I do what I have to do, but am not necessarily happy about it. No more details forthcoming.

Thanks for the detailed assessment Chuck R--very informative. 

Fishead, we have serious surface water issues on my small acreage as it is, and have put in a great deal of effort and expense to manage our pond and wetlands and increase productivity in the remainder. I can't see a way for me and the beavers to coexist peacefully. Wish it were different. 

Thanks again, folks.


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## megafatcat (Jun 30, 2009)

Not rabid. I have chased beaver in a canoe, my daughter in the front was so close she got wet from the tails slapping the water. Several beaver and they were in a cove of a good sized lake, plenty of space to leave. Lasted about 15 minutes and these were large, mature beaver.

My son and I trap that area and I knew where they crossed to get to their bank dens, they were not going to leave the area as it was just daybreak and they wanted to get to bed.

Be careful of that rifle, illegal here in TX to shoot over water because of ricochet. Shotgun is better.
BTW, a dead beaver will sink, you do not want that rotting in the bottom of your pond.


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## Anabaptist (Mar 13, 2010)

> In NYS you can take "nuisance" beaver out of season with a special permit.


If one has the permit.


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

Dem beavers are sure good eating! Don't waste the meat.


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## HOTW (Jul 3, 2007)

My parents had a porblem ith beavers,they had the male move in first, start workign on blocking their dam overflow and building a lodge , then he went and found a mateand brought her back.IN the few weeks he was hanging around working on them he would stay in the middle of a large bush. I was able to get close enough by canoe that I could have touched him. Quite often over the 2 years they were there I would get quite close to them wih the canoe they never showed any real fear I also used to track the huge snapping turtle as well and she never showed much fear either sometimes I could even tap her shell.


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