Cuyahoga Valley National Parks, Beaver Marsh, & Rocky River Reservations; Beaver Behavior Observations.

Personal research paper conducted over seven years of observations while on wildlife photo and video stakes. Emily Gibson edited! Hope this finds you well,

First, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, ball park estimates 27,000 to 30,000 Beavers cover the region. Does that account for all the illegal private property removal of them and their homes? I know many who’ve blown Beavers and their lodges to peaces. Plus, how do you document the deaths? How do you determine such a high number? When I reported what’s later talked about. I called the number I was told to call online and was shrugged off. I called the park itself and had to leave a voicemail, but I assume they don’t keep a headcount of the Beavers. Not to far back in 1984, the Beaver population completely died in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Here’s why that could be happing again if we aren’t careful.

A Beaver was witnessed in the beginning of May showing signs of sickness and weakness. A month later, an adult Beaver appears dead about 100ft away from its lodge. Emily and I yesterday found it and originally thought, how tragic. Until I saw that post of signs of sickness, it got me thinking. Other wetlands I see snakes, frogs, bugs, geese, beavers, fish, birds; my point is balance. When at the Cuyahoga Valley National Parks Beaver Marsh, how often do you see the beavers? Now, how often do you see snapping turtles? I see four to eight each visit. The majority of large ground bird nests have gone. Plus, the first time I see a dead Beaver, there’s turtles feasting.

Here’s the reality if the Beavers are gone. The Beaver Marsh over the next few years will have significant loss in water retention. Plus, the biodiversity will start to vanish. The ecosystems balance will be thrown out of wack with an over growth within the population of aggressive snapping turtles. Bugs will also be much more dominant in the region as time continues. This could’ve been an old and weak Beaver, or possibly one from another region in the wrong territory. However, Ohio is losing Beavers, the most essential species to keeping water in our state! Plants need water, beavers need water. If you take the plants and beavers out of a region then you will watch as drought mysteriously covers the land.

Water levels are dropping. Heat and water usage is increasing every year. What could this cause? Faster multiplying predator species to dominate one location. Look at it like this, birds migrate to mate, almost always, in the same historical breading ground where once born. Salmon do it swimming up river, starving themselves, some never make it due to literally rotting alive from the energy it takes; but they never stop. Our turtles once had full creeks and rivers for them to travel down stream or up stream through. Now with increasingly bipolar seasons, plus more shallow than full water ways. The snapping turtles who survived and reproduced in the Beaver Marsh, where are they going to hunt? What species exists to compete, what species eats, or what species co-exists with these giant adult snappers? The Beavers, who single handedly increase water retention for better snapping turtle conditions. What happens when a dominate, large species outnumbers all others by significant margins? The competition for food becomes great enough for a snapping turtle to attack an adult beaver.

Beavers, in many places are likely to die of freak accident; it’s actually kind of common for trees to fall on them and kill them after cutting it down themselves. Not usually common to be snapping turtles dinner unless an adolescent Beaver. One Beaver lodge, has anyone seen babies at the Beaver Marsh? This and the Beaver populations should be looked into, in my personal opinion. We are watching the vital species that keep our favorite animals coming here, disappear. Do you think the Great Blue Herons want shallow, slow moving water to raise their young by for food? One of the largest nesting spots period, for Great Blue Herons is in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I worry if the beavers leave, many others will too, with time.

There is no conclusion I can come to yet without more research. Yet, the reality is the Beavers in the Rocky River Reservation started to act different and moved due to several factors. The main being the new walkway out on the water they built for no apparent reason directly next to a Beavers family lodge. Beavers build some damns entirely to block out the noise of running water. They hear very well, get annoyed easily, so with all the people. Daily visitors, not only loud on the shore, but now walking, running, and stomping loudly on board walks directly sending sound waves through the water to their peaceful homes. That’s not stressing them out. Our close observation and tampering of their work is necessary? We have a part to play above the snapping turtles, let us not forget that with all said. Now we need to start protecting and leaving Beavers ALONE!!!!

RIP.