Visitors' centre beaver not very 'poplar'
Simon Whitehouse
Northern News Services
Friday, October 23, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Usually the Northern Frontier Visitors Centre is open to any and all guests to ensure the city remains a welcoming place. Lately, however, staff at the location have been battling a beaver located at the pond where the centre is situated.
Over the past few weeks a beaver has been aggressively knocking down trees to help build its lodge in a nearby pond. - Simon Whitehouse/NNSL photo |
"It looks like Hiroshima," said Tracy Therrien, executive director of the visitors' centre.
"He has totally devastated a good portion of our trees."
This comes on the heels of a number of headaches for the centre, including a building affected by frost heaving, and homeless people sleeping underneath the building.
Over the last two weeks, Therrien said the beaver has taken down 15 trees.
In response centre staff began wrapping the remaining trees with chicken wire on Friday.
Therrien said the centre called the GNWT Department of Environment and Natural Resources for assistance.
However, biologists there did not want to move the animal because the animal would struggle in the cold weather.
"They don't want to relocate him because he wouldn't have time to rebuild and would probably die," Therrien said. "If he is around next summer we want to relocate him before next winter of next year because he will destroy the rest of the yard. He has to be relocated before the winter of next year."
Nancy Zimmerman, a communications and planning specialist with the GNWT Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR), said one call came in regarding the beaver but some consideration was made for the animal.
"ENR does not trap and relocate beavers at this time of year since the beaver would not survive (it having lost its winter lodge and stashed winter food," she stated in an e-mail on Monday.
"Property owners can fence their properties or place items like tin (stove piping) or chicken wire around the base of trees to discourage beavers from chewing."
The city is no stranger to beaver controversy.
Beavers were last reportedly relocated from Niven Lake in 2012.
Many beavers have been relocated over the years although officials have previously doubted many of them can survive because they struggle to feed themselves.
Former mayor Gord Van Tighem once told Yellowknifer beavers can be highly aggressive and attack if cornered.
"Beavers can use their tails like a trampoline and will launch themselves at you, and if they get hold of you they'll snip your arm in one bite."
