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Dam! The Beaver Returns to New York
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 23, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 23, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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It is a day for rodents, that's for sure. To the excitement of Big Apple animal lovers, the NY Times reported the first beaver in 200 years has been spotted in the city. A 2- or 3-year-old beaver has been seen in the Bronx River, doing one of two very New York things: Looking for a mate or trying to make his home better (the Times says he was spotted "looking for more material to insulate its home").
Even though people had noticed the beaver last fall, apparently biologists initially suspected it might be a muskrat. Biologists named him Jose, after Representative Jose Serrano who has helped get funding for the Bronx River's cleanup. Now they are waiting to see if more beavers will join him. Wildlife Conservation Society president Dr. Steven Sanderson said, "New York City is the epitome of an urban environment. The fact that an animal which represents the wild frontier of North America can live and thrive in a river that runs through the Bronx Zoo is proof that we can coexist with nature anywhere on the planet. Anything is possible.”
The Times had a nice rundown on how beavers are a part of the city's and state's history. The beaver is on the city seal (teeny tiny, at the bottom of the badge), the state animal is the beaver (adopted in 1975), there's a Beaver Street (and Andre Balazs development called William Beaver House), and City College athletic teams are named the Beavers. Additionally, John Jacob Astor's fortune was made from the beaver pelt trade, hence those beaver plaques at the Astor Place subway station.
Learn more about beavers.
Photograph of subway detail from Astor Place by Triborough on Filckr
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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