Calgarians rescue trapped beaver in southeast community of Riverstone
Residents in a southeast Calgary neighbourhood are questioning the use of leg-hold traps after freeing a beaver caught in one that had malfunctioned.
Tracey Tilden, her husband Breckh and daughter Brook, found the beaver about six hours after it was caught in a leg-hold trap at a creek near their home in the community of Riverstone.
She says it was trying to free itself and looked exhausted. It was dark when they arrived with neighbour Richard Manns.
Breckh and Manns struggled to hold the beaver and free its leg on the muddy bank of the creek.
"This trap, the city told me that it malfunctioned, it was supposed to asphyxiate and drown the beaver humanely," said Tilden. "There's nothing humane in that."
Manns says the beaver waddled away once it was freed.
"As soon as he got released he took a couple of steps and looked back and it was like kind of like a thank you," said Manns. "That was a pretty awesome moment."
Manns says he's glad a person or pet didn't come across the trap that he believes shouldn't be used in a residential area.
"I'm just hoping that somebody looks at this and says maybe this isn't appropriate," he said. "Let's change what we're doing because we can't just let (beavers) do whatever they want but at the same time we can't just throw a trap in the ditch and say 'don't worry about it, it's all good, bye.'"
Tilden says it was disturbing seeing the beaver struggling to live. Her daughter videoed the nighttime rescue and Tilden posted it on the community Facebook page.
"People were shocked and horrified," she said. "The fact that it was in a residential area, such a barbaric trap, inhumane, it had a long cord attached with 40 pounds of weights that this poor beaver was trying to drag around."
Lincoln Julie is the Integrated Pest Management lead for the City of Calgary parks department. He says the city always explores options for co-existence first when it comes to animal issues.
"The difficult part with Cranston, Riverstone is that it is an ideal beaver habitat," said Julie. "Just the way that the channel comes off from the river and then runs down and then goes back into the river."
He's tasked with weighing the benefits of the beavers in the community with the damage they create on the landscape. Then he has to deal with a divided community about the topic.
"There's one side that wants us to leave the beavers and one side that wants us to get rid of the beavers," said Julie. "Our ideal situation would be somewhere in the middle."
Julie says the city has hired a contractor with 35 years of experience dealing with beaver issues all over western Canada. The contractor recommends a smaller population of beavers on the landscape and is trapping some to do that.
"We have to work with them and trust their expertise," said Julie. "But also, you know, consult with other industry experts on best ways to manage beavers and then there's people throughout the industry that we discuss this with."
The city has placed wire mesh around trees to protect them from hungry beavers. It's also tried water levellers and opened up dams to reduce area flooding. Julie says this is the only community in the city where it's dealing with a beaver issue and even a few can do a lot of damage.
"Just in that little channel, one family is probably the maximum that it can sustain," he said. "One beaver can take down 200 trees a year so if you have a couple of beavers, that's 400 trees and then add some kits that come along with that, that can very quickly just deforest the whole area."
Julie says better communication in the area could help educate residents on what the city is trying to achieve with a healthy landscape and beaver population.
"We want again, to co-exist with all wildlife," said Julie. "Whether it's beavers, it's coyotes, bobcats whatever, that's what's great about Calgary is that this wildlife exists in Calgary and we do coexist peacefully for the most part."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NDP motion regarding Palestinian statehood passes after major Liberal alterations
A motion from the federal New Democrats initially calling on Canada to recognize the 'State of Palestine' passed amid widespread acrimony on Monday, after the Liberals drastically altered its wording to see the government simply work towards that aim as part of a two-state solution.
'He didn't want to die': Family of Calgary man killed in standoff speaks out
Family of a Calgary man killed after a 30-hour standoff with police last week are speaking out, sharing details of the tense and heart-wrenching experience.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Ohio mom who left toddler alone 10 days when she went on vacation pleads guilty to aggravated murder
An Ohio mother whose 16-month-old daughter died after being left home alone in a playpen for 10 days last summer while she went on vacation was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Retired teacher pleads guilty to paying for sex with 15-year-old in Collingwood, Ont.
In a Barrie courtroom on Monday, a retired high school teacher from the Niagara Region pleaded guilty to sexual touching and obtaining sexual services from a 15-year-old boy in Collingwood in 2021.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
5 charged in Calgary kidnappings that targeted women
Calgary police have charged five men in a pair of kidnappings last year that targeted innocent victims.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Canadian commander of volunteer fighter group dies in Ukraine
A Canadian-born commander of the so-called Norman Brigade, a volunteer fighting group in Ukraine, has died.