The Beaver-less pond?

So the other day I had a picnic with a friend at the pond and waited around through dusk and didn't see any beaver. the next day i walked around the perimiter of the pond and couldn't notice any beaver markings on the trees! Maybe the beaver has been removed / died/ moved to another pond or place? Nonetheless it is important to keep an eye out for the beaver!

Lincoln Park Beaver Meet and Greet

Hi everyone!, there is a meet and greet scheduled by the crafty Lincoln Park Beaver on Facebook, for this Sunday March 14, 2010 from 2pm to 5pm at the Basil Leaf Cafe, 2465 North Clark Street in Lincoln Park Chicago! To quote the facebook invite: "Come meet other friends and fans of the Lincoln Park Beaver at the Basil Leaf Cafe as we discuss beaver management strategies and the ecological benefits of beavers. Afterward, we will tour the North Pond and visit the beaver lodge." This is a great opportunity to network face to face and figure out ways to help our furry aquatic friend.

Update: The New Lodge

I was walking by North Pond tonight and I noticed a few things. The new beaver lodge has a hole in the ice poked right by it. I took the best picture I could with my cellphone. It's a good sign that the beaver(s) are still beavering around! I walked by the old lodge and there, theres no hole in the ice, and the lodge looks kinda deflated. I would assume that that old lodge is now in a compost stage - cool! I took a closer look at the many living trees around the pond that are wrapped in chain-link fence, to protect from beaver action: I didn't spot any willow trees that were wrapped - willow trees actually grow more when beavers gnaw on their living bark. It looks like the conservation council decided to work WITH the beaver, and not against it! Yay!

Bully In The Hallway supports The Lincoln Park Beaver

Hi everyone! New update:

Chicago's very own local band Bully In The Hallway gives their support of the Lincoln Park Beaver in a video on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOMC4x6Yqw0



Also I was in the park the other day and noticed that trees had been wrapped with wire to protect them from the beavers chomping. I don't know if this is the result of action by the North Pond Conservation Council, or by individuals, but it seems to be a positive step nonetheless, because it is a very simple step to protect specific trees.

Also! a new beaver lodge has appeared on the north portion of the pond,:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lincoln_Park_North_Pond_Beaver_Lodge_Dec_4,_2009.jpg

Two lodges in one pond! Perhaps the beaver is getting into the real estate business?

!!!

Just the other day, I was at the North Pond and I saw a Beaver! It was (justifiably) skittish, but it seemed to be rather medium sized, and very busy! I am interested in arranging a public meeting to discuss government action to secure the Beavers place in Lincoln Park.

Also, I found these articles about a beaver in New York City!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/23/nyregion/23beaver.html

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081218080817.htm

Apparently THEY think that a beaver in the middle of the city is special, and worth protecting!

I found a book by Scott Holingue called Tales from an Urban Wilderness published in 1994 that chronicles the North Pond and has 3 pages about a beaver in the pond! Wow, maybe the beaver in the North Pond today had family in the pond back in 1994?

Lincoln Park Beaver Murdered

http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/beaver_north_pond_apr09

The Lincoln Park Beaver, and the Reason for this Blog

Hi everybody! I'm starting this blog in order to inform everyone that a Beaver has made it's home in the middle of Chicago! "What? That's crazy, you must be talking about a rat or something, they get that big in Chicago." No really! There's a real-life Beaver that has made a home in the North Pond in Lincoln Park! It has built a lodge made out of branches and fur, and it goes about the pond doing Beaverly things like eat wood, and move bits of wood about and cut down a few trees here and there. It showed up all by itself likely following the banks of Lake Michigan until it found the North Pond, an inner city wildlife sanctuary in Lincoln Park. Lots of animals are in the park because it has been painstakingly restored to a state of native vegetation by the North Pond Conservation Council (http://www.northpond.org/northpond/index.html). This vegetative state (not like when you watch TV) is home to turtles, fish, squirrels and chipmunks, 150+ species of birds, many insects, and of course, a Beaver! This blog is devoted to the cause of letting the Beaver stay in its adopted home, because Chicago is big enough and wealthy enough to spare a few bits of wood and put up a few wire mesh guards to let this indigenous furry rodent with a flat tail and orange teeth be itself. I hope you feel the same way I do! Stay posted for more updates about the Lincoln Park Beaver.