Tumpline
Betcha Didn’t Know… ABOUT
Beavers
n Beavers are the second largest rodent.
n The beaver was the main currency of the fur trade. Pelts were trapped in the hinterland by natives, ex- changed for goods at trading posts and shipped to Europe to be treated with mercury to make felt for hats.
n Beaver tails are sweet hunks of deep-fried dough that are popular on Ottawa’s Rideau Canal. They set back sugar- craving ice skaters $3.50.
n Newborn beavers are able to swim within hours of being born.
n Beavers were practically wiped out in Europe by de- mand for castor oil, a bitter excretion that was used to treat pains and is still used to scent perfumes.
n The buckteeth of a beaver never stop growing.
n Jerry Mathers gnashed some impressive buckteeth himself as star of Leave it to Beaver, a sit-com that debuted in 1957.
n Beavers dam waterways with a mass of mud, rocks and sticks to create a pond that provides access to vegeta- tion and protection from predators. The largest known beaver dam stretched nearly 1,500 metres across a river in Saskatchewan.
n Female beavers tend to grow larger than males.
n The mating practices of beaver—of interest to a large number of humans—involve mid-winter romantic dalli- ances under the ice.
n Beavers can hold their breath for 15 minutes.
n The legendary DeHavilland Beaver bush plane has taken more canoeists to more re- mote put-ins than any other airplane.—Conor Mihell
THE FINEST KEVLAR CANOES ANYWHERE.
www.sourisriver.com 807-597-1292
14 n C ANOE ROOT S fall 2007
PHOTO:
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