Beaver Camping

Squarespace won’t let me add the video I want to add :(

August-September: This blog was written a few weeks back. I’m still figuring out how to structure my days, and am hopeful to begin writing more now that I’m in the UK (spoiler). 

I’m writing this laying down in a beaver wetland, although right now it is more land than wet. The dam, a line of green foliage and shrubs 20 meters to my left, is largely abandoned. Above my head I find the gray knobs of downy birch gnawed by beavers years ago when the water level was higher. Today I am in Rauland, Norway, sitting along the Beverstein Trail. I’m here with a social science researcher on surveying people’s views of beaver-modified landscapes as they walk the 2km loop through the woods and wetland. Mostly, this entails sitting in the grass, watching the wind blow, and reading a book until we pounce on the unsuspecting potential research subjects hiking by (aka other people over the age of 18 who are willing to fill out a brief questionnaire). 

I’ve spent the past two weeks in Bø, Norway in the Telemark Region, not to be confused with the beaverless Bø, Norway in the Arctic circle. With rolling mountains and endless forests, it's beautiful. The landscape is dominated by farmland, mostly hay and wheat. I’m working with the Norwegian Beaver Project, a team of researchers led by Dr. Frank Rosell at the University of South East Norway. My days are spent reading the textbook Dr. Rosell co-wrote.

The evenings are where it gets exciting. 2-3 times a week, I go out on a boat with Dan, an undergrad from the UK, to look for beavers along the Gvarv and Lunde rivers.Usually, we head out around 7pm and often spend the first hour or two taking care of errands for the lab–such as changing out the batteries and SD cards on the camera traps positioned above the dozens of lodges. The traps are part of the second phase of an ongoing research project to understand how other animals use the tops of beaver lodges. They just published a wonderful paper showing how beaver lodges are hotspots of animal diversity. 

I’m not the best at driving motor boat, but its fun! Eventually, as the sun sets, we start seeing beavers. We usually see 6-8 per night, scanning the shores of the river with blinding-3000-lumen spotlights. Beavers don’t have the same light-­reflecting crystals in their eyes as deer and dogs, meaning their eyes do not appear to glow in the spotlight. 

Beyond that, all is well! I went to a beaver-themed waterpark the other day which was fun. Based on the water pressure of the “lazy” river and the resulting bruises, Norway seems to have looser water park regulations than the US.