Olympic Village gets furry new resident
James MacKinnon woke up at 5: 30 a. m. Saturday morning to catch a glimpse of the new resident making waves in Vancouver’s Olympic Village neighbourhood.
A beaver had been spotted in the man- made water channel in Hinge Park on Friday and MacKinnon was curious to confirm the flat- tailed rodent had indeed moved in.
“I didn’t see anything for quite a while,” MacKinnon said Monday. “And I was just about to give up actually, and there he was on the bank.”
For 20 minutes, MacKinnon watched the beaver — he estimates it is about two years old — as it swam the length of the small wetland and sauntered up on the bank. The animal doesn’t seem to have built a lodge yet, and appeared fairly comfortable with its exposure to humans, said MacKinnon, author of the bestselling 100 Mile Diet and a self- described amateur naturalist. Unusual as it may seem, the Olympic Village beaver is part of a trend, said Robyn Worcester, conservations program manager at the Stanley Park Ecology Society. “They’re turning up pretty regularly right now,” she said.
This time of year many young beavers are settling in city parks along the waterfront after leaving the ponds they grew up in to find their own habitat. Eventually they find their way to the Fraser River, which spits them into English Bay or Burrard Inlet, Worcester said.
“They have to find their way to the nearest freshwater body. Generally they’ll hit Jericho and they’ll hit Stanley Park ... and now they’ll go so far as the Olympic Village.” The beaver likely chose the channel at Hinge Park after finding other city ponds were already occupied, Worcester said, adding beavers are often in a hurry to get out of saltwater because it makes them ill.
The habitat around Hinge Park and False Creek has proved appealing to other wildlife in recent years. Worcester recalled the grey whale that made its way into the waterway in 2010, and said she’s also seen sea lions and herons in the area.
Ultimately, however, the park is not optimal beaver habitat. There are few trees around for the animal to eat and the man- made water channel cannot be altered to create a dam or a lodge, which Worcester said beavers will instinctually want to do. Worcester said she hoped the attention paid to the beaver would result in public awareness that they are wild animals and should be left alone. People should never feed beavers or other wild animals they encounter, no matter the location.
“This beaver is doing something natural, it’s trying to find its way in the world and it needs to be left alone to figure it out.”
Worcester said she hoped the beaver would eventually realize the park is sub- par habitat and move along.
Vancouver park board spokeswoman Joyce Courtney said staff are monitoring the beaver to determine whether it is setting up a home or “just passing through.” There are resident beavers in other city parks that seem to live happily, she said. If this beaver chooses to stay put, Courtney said staff will have to consider the impact it has on the park and may take measures to protect the trees in the area.