Two young beavers from the Okanagan will be calling Kamloops, B.C., home for the foreseeable future.
In a social media post on Friday, the B.C. Wildlife Park says the two beavers were separately rescued in Vernon and Kelowna, then were transferred to its Fawcett Family Wildlife Health Centre.
The first beaver, named Alder, was reportedly found in the Vernon area five weeks ago, walking down a busy road in a residential area.
The second beaver, Willow, was found in the Kelowna area, under a bridge.
“Our rehabilitation team isn’t sure exactly what happened to orphan these two beavers,” said the B.C. Wildlife Park, “but it is thought that the high waters could have separated them from the rest of their family.”
The park said the beavers require around-the-clock care and bottle feeding.
“Alder is growing well and is now eating solid foods on his own,” said the park, “whereas Willow still requires a bit of encouragement with eating solid foods.”
The park said following careful consideration, its rehabilitation team decided that Alder and Willow will remain at the health centre until they are ready to be released.
“Rehabilitating beavers takes a copious amount of time, dedication, and resources,” said the park. “It takes two years until they are mature enough to released back into the wild.”
The park said it will be repurposing an existing structure into a suitable beaver pool, where Alder and Willow will live once they get bigger and stronger.
“The pair has a long road ahead of them,” said the park, “and we will be sure to share more of their journey as they progress.”
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