Otter-ly Fantastic
Today marks the official second day of the beaver trapping season here in the great state of Idaho. It also marks the first official cold snap of winter and it looks like we will have several feet of snow in bound to go along with our frigid temperatures over the next week.
In fact, while I was out on Tuesday morning at 3:30 am setting some known beaver lodge’s my truck informed me that it was a mere 8* outside. Had I not seen and taken a picture of the temperature gauge, it would have still been very apparent when I stepped out of my truck. In fact, I could barely see through the brightness of my headlamp as my breathe was creating a dense cloud in front of my face.
Through that literal fog in the wee morning hours I had to strip down, take my boots off, and then put on my chest waders to get into the ice-covered waters. Behind my truck and already shivering I began to set two 330 conibears and one foothold trap attached to a drowning wire. The dam and lodge I was targeting was one that was jeopardizing our road with a washout, and we had twice (as the highway department) ripped it out only to have them rebuild it in short order. Net was, these beaver needed to go.
So with my cinderblock and pre-set foothold in hand, I made my way into the water. Against the glare of my light, I noticed movement in the water around me and was shocked to see that I was being circled by two extremely fast aquatic creatures. Assuming they were beaver, I was mesmerized out how fast they swam and how this normally shy creature was investigating me. Despite this heightening my nerves for fear of getting bitten by a beaver at 4 am in the middle of nowhere, it was definitely one of the coolest outdoor experiences I have ever had. With a quick splash of my hand on the ice, they disappeared into their den and I got to work setting my traps. Once set, I retreated to the warmth of my truck cab and made the drive home.
Then this morning, after first light, I set back out to see if we had any luck on the water line. Quickly my headlamp caught a shape near where I had set a conibear. I could see that a small juvenile beaver was humanely caught, which gave me motivation for the other two traps. As my headlamp panned around, though, I could see that my second conibear was untouched. When I then looked to where I had broken their dam and placed a foothold trap, the dam had been repaired and there was fresh beaver scat floating in the water. I assumed at that moment the beavers had successfully avoided my trap and built around it (not the first time this has happened to me)… but as I looked closer, I could see my foothold was gone and there was something at the bottom of my drowning wire… Maybe I did get one of them!
Getting into the water to investigate closer, I started to break up the ice with my hammer and pull on the long drowning wire to see what was on the other end. Eventually what was pulled out was not a beaver, but a beautiful black and grey river otter who looked like he had been filling himself quite well on the local trout. I then registered that what had been speedily circling me in the water just a day ago were otter and not beaver! This was amazing as otter were something I had been looking to target for some time, but my first catch was pure luck. Once home, I quickly called it into Idaho Fish and Game (You can only catch 3 per season and the regulations are tight around checking in the pelts within 72 hours) and began the skinning process of this coveted pelt. Being extremely cautious to not puncture the hide, I spent over four hours skinning, fleshing and boarding this beautiful (and fatty) creature.
Awesome!