First Sighting in 500 Years...!!

Captured on film, no less, a mammal thought to have been extinct in the UK for over 500 years:

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Phantastic new

Fantastic news Phil   

And now please... Find me a thylacine   

Kikimalou wrote:

Fantastic news Phil   

And now please... Find me a thylacine   

That might be easier, actually.  There are still many who believe that the thylacine is extant in Tasmania.  A large part of that island nation is essentially uninhabited.  When it comes to endangered species, where there are no humans, there is hope... 

schleich61 wrote:

Kikimalou wrote:

Fantastic news Phil   

And now please... Find me a thylacine   

That might be easier, actually.  There are still many who believe that the thylacine is extant in Tasmania.  A large part of that island nation is essentially uninhabited.  When it comes to endangered species, where there are no humans, there is hope... 

  

That is great ! Thankyou for the info
The beaver is an amazing creature   
It must surely have escaped from somewhere recently , IMHO.
It is not like beavers are invisible, or rather, their behaviour leaves very visible marks ...
I hope they give him/her a mate and a few friends   

    

Kikimalou wrote:

Fantastic news Phil   

And now please... Find me a thylacine   

Yes, i have a figurine extra (you know i dont collect extinct animals) and i hope this figurine to integrate in my zoo  

That's amazing!

Two YouTube videos:

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   That is great news!
I really do hope they have a few Thylacines left in existence, for some reason they appeal to me a lot.
probably because they look a little like a canid... 

If you want beavers, you can take them from behind my house. They are a regular pest, always damming up the river, and I set many traps for them. I usually take 10-15 beaver a year, and they always seem to come back the next year. They get quite large. The largest I have caught was 51 pounds.

cattlecollector wrote:

If you want beavers, you can take them from behind my house. They are a regular pest, always damming up the river, and I set many traps for them. I usually take 10-15 beaver a year, and they always seem to come back the next year. They get quite large. The largest I have caught was 51 pounds.

That's funny because I met one of the beavers from behind your house and he said the local humans are 'pests' because they think they own the whole area and continually ruin their carefully constructed dams...   

Seriously, though, how do you trap them and what do you do with them...? I assume you have a State of Iowa "furharvester" license...  

I use a conabair ( I think I spelled that right) trap. I find a narrow passage that the beavers use to swim through and stake the trap in. The beaver swims through and hits the trigger, snapping the trap. It is quick and painless for the beaver. My dad and I then tan and prepare the hides which we sell to a fur trader who makes hats and other clothing. The beaver tail is also very tasty, and I use the thick skin from it to make knife sheaths and other such items. I hope that this does not offend anybody.   

cattlecollector wrote:

I use a conabair ( I think I spelled that right) trap. I find a narrow passage that the beavers use to swim through and stake the trap in. The beaver swims through and hits the trigger, snapping the trap. It is quick and painless for the beaver. My dad and I then tan and prepare the hides which we sell to a fur trader who makes hats and other clothing. The beaver tail is also very tasty, and I use the thick skin from it to make knife sheaths and other such items. I hope that this does not offend anybody.   

You're referring to a "conibear" trap which  secures the trapped animal and kills it by either snapping the neck or strangling it to death.  Unfortunately, given that there are different sizes of beavers, there is a real risk that the animal may be trapped by the leg, snout, etc., which means that the animal will die a slow, painful death.  I would imagine that asphxiation by strangulation is not a particularly pleasant way for any animal to die, either...now, please excuse me while I run to the bathroom to vomit profusely... 


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SUSANNE wrote:

That is great ! Thankyou for the info
The beaver is an amazing creature   
It must surely have escaped from somewhere recently , IMHO.
It is not like beavers are invisible, or rather, their behaviour leaves very visible marks ...
I hope they give him/her a mate and a few friends   

Escaped pet beaver?  Escaped zoo beaver?  Or Justin Bieber (escaped today from police custody)?  

I am sorry for upsetting you Schleich61. You asked and I gave my honest answer. I do apologize.   

cattlecollector wrote:

I am sorry for upsetting you Schleich61. You asked and I gave my honest answer. I do apologize.   

No need for an apology, as you're operating within the law and I would be a bit of a hypocrite to criticize you for trapping beavers when I myself am an omnivore, and have surely consumed chicken, etc. which have been slaughtered in an "inhumane" way. I just hope you're not seriously depopulating your local area of beavers.

Of course, beaver pelts are highly prized and have been a big part of hunting/trapping histories of both the USA and Canada going back to at least the early 1700's and probably much further back into the 1600's.

No need to worry about the population here. There are plenty. Hopefully the population will increase in the UK, and a beaver will be a common sight for them.