Some headlines just write themselves.
Colorado woman embraces beavers, champions nature’s engineers
Bubba smells funky.
It’s no wonder. The two caged beavers in the back seat of Sherri Tippie’s aging red Isuzu Trooper – affectionately named Bubba – are awash in their own dank musk as ice bags drip down their backs.
“I love that smell. Don’t you just love it? Nothing smells better to me,” says Sherri Tippie, inhaling deeply. “I was born for beavers.”
As Colorado’s lone licensed live trapper and relocator of beavers, the opinionated part-time jail barber from Lakewood has become a legend among beaver lovers. For 22 years, she has battled stereotypes – and centuries of history – that paint beavers as water-hoarding pests worth more as soft hats than wild animals. Tippie has relocated several hundred, maybe even a thousand of the industrious, family-centric creatures.
She traps the engineering animals in metro Denver’s urban streams and releases them in rural areas where their labor is appreciated for creating wetlands, raising water tables, restoring silty top soil and cleaning water.
Gretchen Holschuh is obviously impressed. Or maybe she’s a tad uncomfortable with Tippie’s fearless fondling of the wild animals. The wildlife manager for the Pueblo West District declines Tippie’s invitation to scratch the beavers.
[…]
“It’s really neat to see the enthusiasm for beaver.”
She just loves playing with her beaver
I wonder if she’ll be shaving her beaver?
Yup, some headlines just write themselves.
May god bless her and her beaver.
I’m glad to hear someone has a better idea of how to manage beavers than the people that would just kill them. I also like her views on humanity. And, as a reward for her hard work, she gets to pet the beavers!!
I’ll refrain from being among the many to make the obvious beaver references.
I will say that I always find it a thrill when I get to see beavers in the wild. It’s one of the reasons I love getting out in my canoe. Oh, and for anyone else that wants to keep a canoe in a city, check this out.
http://www.aire.com/AIRE/traveler.shtml
It’s pricey, of course, and a tad slower than a hard-shell (I think), but is more comfortable, more stable (initial and secondary), and quieter than any hard shell I’ve ever paddled.
Oh, OK, I’ll join the crowd after all. Who could possibly get turned on by a beaver with such nasty sharp pointy teeth?
I absolutely, positively refuse to comment about “Bubba smells funky.” Since my real first name is Mephistopheles , I’ll let this one slide.
That photo of the teeth — horrors — this might be one animal who could defeat this rabbit.
I soiled my armor I was so scared — run away!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcxKIJTb3Hg
#4, Scott,
Oh, OK, I’ll join the crowd after all. Who could possibly get turned on by a beaver with such nasty sharp pointy teeth?
If ugly bothers you, just remember to thank Edison for inventing the light switch.
[off topic]
#3, #4, Scott, that’s a nice canoe, but with my luck, I’d tip that dude over catching a 5 lb. bass. How long does it take to inflate (without the beavers and their nice sharp pointy teeth)? What’s the draft?
#7 – BubbaRay,
I’d be impressed if you could tip that canoe. It’s a bit wider than a hard shell and is essentially a long narrow raft. If our Chota mukluks get dirty getting into the boat, we can both dangle our feet in the water on the same side to rinse them off before getting fully into the boat.
My wife and I with 25 pound of camera gear, lunch, and other assorted stuff, totaling over 300 pounds plus the weight of the boat can usually float in about 3 or 4 inches of water if the bottom is soft and mucky. A hard sand bottom might require another inch or two.
We usually have no trouble dragging it over beaver dams without even unloading it. In fact, if there’s enough water flowing over the dam, we can usually shoot the dam on the way down, and have never done any significant damage to it.
With the electric pump (dual action, blows and sucks), we take about 20 minutes to get into the water and about an hour to get out. The hand pump will increase the time to get into the water by about 5 minutes and leave you a bit more tired.
Due to a necessary part of the design of the center pontoon, water gets between the outer shell and the inner air pocket. The canoe must be put on an angle (leaning on the hood works) to let the water drain. It’s also a bit more work to clean to avoid transporting invasive plants.
Other than that though, it is a great wildlife viewing (or presumably fishing) platform. We carry two anchors in case we see someone worth watching (i.e. non-human). Oh, and you can stretch out with your legs over a nice soft pontoon.
Once in the water, it really is better than any hard shell we’ve ever paddled. If the paddle hits the side, it’s a quiet dull thud. The boat has less directional stability, so you’ll need a more gentle J stroke. Wind also turns the boat quite a bit, but that’s true of any canoe. Waves, even white caps, are much less of a problem in a raft or in this long narrow raft.
Do the full research, but I wouldn’t buy a hard shell again.
Couple of mods:
1) buy better pipe insulation to go around the whole seat and cover with a white cloth tape.
2) if you want anchors, you can attach the rope cleats by drilling and bolting through the vertical seat supports.
[absolutely, absurdly off topic]
#8, Scott, that is so cool! I’ve looked into portable stuff like this to fish the Brazos and Bosque rivers, but haven’t found anything that looks as light, large and comfortable. Maybe I could figure out how to put a small electric trolling motor on it.
One hour to take out? Maybe someone will have a cold one while I wait for the deflate. Thanks!
I’ve never wanted another high-dollar boat, I’d rather have friends with high-dollar boats. 🙂
BubbaRay,
Sorry, there is a bit of commitment. The hour isn’t just waiting. It’s cleaning it as well. Once it drains, cleaning and deflating are concurrent activities. Open the valves and start wiping, which also pushes the air out. Then there’s just a little left to pump out with either pump on reverse. Then fold it into the raft bag and put back in the trunk.
As for the motor, you may be able to rig something, but for your health, don’t you want the exercise? The motor will also increase the draft quite a lot. Besides, most of the time, fishing is just sitting around with a line in the water, looking silly and drinking beer, no?
Oh, one more advantage, with the boat in your trunk you don’t get that loud whooshing sound of your gas-mileage eroding that you get with a boat on your roof.
[so absurdly off topic it’s not even here, really!]
#10, Scott, bass fishin’ is continuous pinpoint casting into brush, rip-rap, coves, places where those smart suckers hide. An anchor might be ok, but maneuvering while casting is almost a necessity. I doubt my lovely bride would be willing to continuously row against a current while I pop a cold one and make “just one more cast.” 🙂
Plus, it’s the ride back upstream that worries me – both rivers are fairly swift.
Did you see this great video of one TV pro bass fisherman? Great for a laugh on Sunday (or any) afternoon…
http://tinyurl.com/2rq8gv
#4
Think of it as a snapping pussy.
With the electric pump (dual action, blows and sucks),
Well, this did start with a discussion about beavers.
#12….BubbaRay…..to damn funny….thanks. 🙂
#12 – BubbaRay,
I guess it helps when watching that video if you actually go fishing once in a while. I don’t. You know what they say.
Give a man a fish, he eats for a day.
Teach a man to fish and he’ll spend all day every day out in that damn boat drinking beer.
[this is so far off topic, it’s actually posted in another universe]
#16, Scott, I wish I could. But drinking beer while bass fishing leads to the disasters you saw in that video from #12! 😆
You wouldn’t even believe how competitive a sport bass fishing is. I’ve a friend that lives on Lake Ray Roberts with a great dock and pier, and while ripping an 8.5 pounder out of the water at sunrise I thought two guys in a boat were gonna kill me! Turns out there was a pro tournament on the lake that day. Morans, I hope I cost them some big bucks.
There are people who watch those million dollar bass tournaments on ESPN instead of just goin’ fishin’!! Teach a kid to fish and you’ll teach some valuable lessons about courtesy, safety and responsibility and make some memories that last a lifetime.
#17 – BubbaRay,
Since this was so far off topic, I honored it as the first topic on my new blog. Feel free to ask me any more questions about it there.
Wait a minute…I think I see Jesus in that beaver’s mouth…