Another Wildlife Mystery

One

Banned
Last month over labor day week end, a fishing buddy and I went up north to my Stepdaughter’s place for some camping/fishing. “Step” has a nice spot with a stretch of stream, on private property. It has a variety of fish, trout and warmer water fish at different times of year, and is connected to the main waterway through the central part of the state. You never know what will be there, bass, catfish, sunfish etc., which makes it tricky and unpredictable fishing. I’ve seen some big carp, small trout and lots of crawdads.

Anyway, we went out one night after dark for some night fishing. The water was very cloudy and high compared to usual, because it had flooded the day before. The water level was actually rising that night again, pretty fast too. Lots of slippery clay deposits that made things more difficult. I slipped in it the next day and got a treble hook stuck in my finger, set the barb in deep,… but that’s another story.

We weren’t having much luck fishing, but all of a sudden we started hearing these loud splashes in the river, just across from where we were fishing. We couldn’t see anything on the other side with the lights we had. It sounded like someone was throwing in big rocks (20 pounds or so) in a row, one after another in the stream… boom boom boom! I think I yelled something like, “Hey! Knock it off! You’re on private property! We’re trying to fish over here.” After it went on a while, we decided it couldn’t have been from a person or people, because we would have been able to hear them running on the other side and/or see them. It also would have been nearly impossible for someone to run that fast with that many big rocks, ready to go. It was very odd. The other side is a cliff with lots of rocks of all sizes that would have slid into the creek if people were running over there. We would have heard it. Shortly after it stopped, Step was still looking along the other side with her flashlight and said she saw something that looked like a “giant beaver“.

I’ve heard people say that there are big beavers in that river canyon, but never have seen one myself. I also haven’t seen any of the usual beaver signs, like felled trees and beaver dams, but maybe it’s because it floods every year. There are burrows on the banks of the stream I’ve seen, which make me think more of monster river rats!

I told another buddy of mine about it, who’s spent a lot of time up there, and he thinks those giant beavers jump in the stream at night and splash their big flat tails to try and scare people away! LOL

The river rats have round tails unlike the beavers, but maybe they belly flop or something? Anyone ever hear of giant rodents doing that sort of thing?

Whatever it is,… I want to go back with some night vision binoculars or some type of portable flood light and catch it in the act. Who knows,… it might be good to eat.

We'll probably head back up towards the end of this month. I really want to see this thing.

This shot was taken before it flooded. That whole sand bar was under water last time.

DSCN6952_zps5ede60d8.jpg
 
Tai,

I have had experiences like this. On several occasions it was in fact beavers. They're good at making noise, and they don't always leave typical beaver signs. I've also had this happen where it turned out to be very large fish, usually spawning buffalo where I come from, but on one occasion spawning brown trout. You never know.
 
Thanks Travis, It is connected to waterways that have bigmouth buffalo, but haven't heard any specifics about them in this stretch of stream. It's very possible though. There are also rumors of some big browns held up in deep pools there. I haven't seen or caught any there yet though, but have heard others say they have. It's lower Oak Creek, close to the Verde River confluence, mostly private land and very mysterious.

You are right. It could have been a number of things. That's why I want to go back and see it. :)
 
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I grew up in the woods of east Texas and we had all kinds of water life, including river otters, beavers, and nutria rats (and quite a few gators). The beavers and nutria were pretty wary. The otters were sometimes curious and interactive. Very cool little creatures. I haven't a clue what that sound was, Tai, but I did find this video:

[video=youtube;NwtvoHNY3io]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwtvoHNY3io[/video]
 
Shawn, Thanks for the clip. It's hard to tell from the audio, but what we heard seemed a lot louder and bigger. That sounds more like big fish. This sounded like big rocks... boom boom boom!... could be some BIG beavers I guess.

I've heard people say beavers can get up to and over 100 pounds. If so, I'd love to see one.
 
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Next trip to the stream go to the side where you heard the noise and look for any signs of beaver. Maybe a large beaver was trying to scare an intruding beaver away. Or maybe there are exceptionally large bullfrogs jumping off the bank. Just a thought.
 
Not that I believe in them...but...that sounds like the bigfoot sighting stories you see on TV, with the rock throwing. The last Pima county, AZ sighting per the online DB was west of Sabino Creek in 1975, with other reports in 2000, if that means anything. Wonder if my zombie knife will work for these...gonna have to make a new pattern....
 
Tai - sounds like bank beaver - instead of dams and lodges they build their homes dug into the bank - pretty common on bigger rivers here in the west.
And yep big beaver can even go over a hundred pounds - the last big one I took was while working for a tree farm up in Washington state and he was causing all kinds of problems with his dam building - he weighed 120 lbs dry - the hide measured 5' in diameter...
 
Thanks guys.

It's most likely the "bank beavers", but just want to see them with my own eyes... and get a good look at their splashing technique. I have seen shallow burrows that were dug into the banks, but didn't know beavers did that. I thought they might be from javelina.

I've heard beavers are good to eat, but it's too close to houses to shoot them, and too many dogs and people around to set dangerous traps. Any ideas how I might catch one without getting myself mauled or mangled by it?
 
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O.K. Chuck. Thanks, I'll look into it. I've heard the tails are the best part to eat. I sort of figured I might have to build a trap and then spear it or something, but don't have a clue what to bait the trap with other than maybe vegetables of some sort.
 
beavers slap their tails to warn each other of danger and when they dive under. I'm a trapper and this is what it sounds like to me. Even a small beaver can make a big splash
 
Thanks, I figured it was either a warning to us or to other beavers or both. The ground squirrels out here slap their feet on the ground to warn others when there is a snake close by. Do you ever eat them? If so, are they really any good?
 
They have beautiful meat and my brother in law said they were pretty good but I'm pretty picky about what I eat. You ever watched Jeremiah Johnson?
 
beaver meat not the tail can be not bad especially when made into a stew - the tail is mostly fat and is usually roasted - for the old mountaineers who were often fat starved, it was a nice change from lean times, but I have yet to have beaver tail that I liked (put those thoughts away!) . The taste can be affected by several things the critters eat and since fat absorbs flavors ........
 
In the movie the Indian woman is a terrible cook and Redford tells the boy to take note of where they sat the beaver traps and go get them something better to eat.
 
I was reading that the meat, especially tail can get fouled by fluids that leak out the vent hole during cleaning/gutting the beaver. They say it needs to be dabbed off with a cloth as it comes out. Don't know if any of that is true though. I think I'd try cutting the tail off first, cutting it into slices and frying it crispy like bacon or making some chicharones,... or BBQ half burnt with lots of crispy caramelized sauce on it. A friend of mine has a cross bow we could shoot one with, but we'd need a night vision scope on it. I haven't seen any out during the day and have camped there a total of about a half dozen nights. I've heard critters around camp at night and think it might be the beavers.

The stream has some big carp too and there seems to be a lot of controversy about eating them as well. I guess the main thing there is to cut out the mud vein from both sides and make sure the water they are in isn't polluted. I haven't caught one yet though, so I don't know. My family were trout and salmon snobs for the most part and we never kept any carp.

I want to give both a try and see for myself.
 
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With the price of meats sky rocketing at the grocery store, I figure it might be worth a try. With most stuff, it's usually how you prepare it and cook it. If nothing else, the beaver meat might be O.K. ground up, maybe sausage with lots of spices and seasoning.

I don't care much for stew or mushy meat. I like it crispy or on the firm side. If I have to simmer it down to soften it, I usually shred and re-fry it crispy, maybe make some crispy tacos or flautas with it. Cooking in general is a hobby of mine. I especially like outdoor cooking.

... been catching a lot of fish, and eating some dove and quail too. I can't believe some people don't like dove.
 
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Yes make sure you dont get the castor oil on it or you will not like it that is for sure. You can cut the castors out before you skin the rest and be sure to clean your knife before cutting the meat up. Let us know if you get one.

Austin
 
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