PHOENIX — It’s not a sight most Phoenicians are accustomed to seeing: beavers making themselves at home in Arcadia yards.
“I don't know about you, but I've never seen a beaver in Arcadia,” said Jamie Hass Oliver, a Development Manager at Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center. “So, it's a pretty unusual sight.”
An adult male beaver was spotted in a backyard near 44th Street and Osborn Road Tuesday night, right in the heart of the Arcadia neighborhood.
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“So, there's a chance that the Salt River might be feeding into the canal system,” Oliver explained. “Once a beaver makes it into a canal, like the one near 44th Street and Osborn, there's no food in there for them. So, when they get hungry, they will emerge from the water and look for food.”
Oliver says Arcadia is as logical a choice as any for beavers to emerge from the canal system.
“You know, when I want some food, I go to Arcadia — they have some amazing restaurants down there. So, I guess a beaver was looking there as well!”
This is not the first beaver sighting in the area. Mellisa Murray, who lives just a few blocks north of Osborn Road, captured video of a pair of beavers in her backyard, doing what beavers do best: at least one small tree in her yard was cut down by the semi-aquatic rodents.
“The beaver that was just rescued is actually the third beaver in our rehab facility right now,” Oliver said.
One rescued beaver has been named Fern. Unable to be released into the wild, Fern is now a permanent resident at the conservation center. That probably won’t be the fate for the latest rescued Arcadia beaver.
“So, the vet tech says he looks pretty fine,” Oliver explained. “He's got regular amounts of energy, He's eating well, He's swimming around in his little tub in our rehab area. So, he's doing great, it's likely that he's fine.”
Once the latest Arcadia beaver checks out with the veterinarian, he’ll be able to be placed back in the wild, meaning he may make it home in time for the holidays! (Of course, that probably means less to the beaver than it does to all of us.)
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