Two pairs of beavers found injured on a property near Merritt, B.C. were recently sent back into the wild after going through rehabilitation.
The animals were found on private land along Howarth Creek by Merritt, where they became trapped as the landowner did not want beavers on their property.
The Interior Wildlife Rehabilitation Society then captured them one at a time, and cared for them until their injuries were healed and they were ready to be released back into the watershed. This is all part of a wetland restoration project being headed by biology professor at the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology, Tom Willms.
“They are hopefully going to be doing great things which is restoring wetlands, lowering the temperature in that watershed where the beavers are supposed to be,” said Eva Hartmann, founder of the Interior Wildlife Rehabilitation Society.
“That’s important for the plants the vegetation and with that a whole lot of other wildlife that uses that particular watershed.”
The beavers had a number of small injuries when they were found, but the recovery process was quick.
“They all had soft tissue injuries – they didn’t have broken bones or anything and those injuries heal up fairly quickly,” said Hartmann. “They were in our care, each pair for around 10 days. We take care of them at our facility and make sure that they get along in pairs.”
The beavers were released in pairs by Tom Willms, who has a permit to move the animals.
Hartmann added that the beavers were relocated to the same watershed, but in a different area – one that will hopefully see them thrive in their new environment – because after all, they have work to do.
“The whole project is a wetland restoration project, and with all the fires and the current climate change, this is a super important conservation project,” said Hartmann.