Beaver!

[jneen]

We may have figured out the cause of Candy's demise.
My (part-time) neighbor killed a huge beaver. We have a pond, as many in Georgia do, to raise fish for our consumption. Our neighbor that has a cabin next to us also has one. He called my dh a few days ago and said he killed a beaver that conservatively weighed about 40 lbs. We do not allow beavers to live in our ponds because they will destroy the man-made dam and you will lose your pond and fish. I had thought it was a coyote that killed her but I could never figure out why she was able to get home. Coyotes will usually eat whatever they kill like that. I didn't know beavers were that big! I'm sure if the dogs saw a beaver in our pond they would have gone after it, even if only out of curiousity. A couple of weeks ago I went for a walk to the driveway to get our mail and I heard something very large splash into the pond. I was worried it was a gator but a gator wouldn't have splashed, I don't think. I'm going to do a little research and see what I can find out, but I know one thing, if that beaver killed Candy - I'm glad it's dead!

[Krislady]

Yikes - I didn't know beavers were like that!

Of course, the only thing I know about beavers comes from the Narnia books, so that may not be entirely accurate. But still, they were part of the good guys!

Wow.

[Pot Scrubber]

I wouldn't be surprised. Beavers are very territorial because they spend hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours building and maintaining their dams. Without them they would go extinct. They are not carnivores they have no interest in killing animals for food.

The same with Hippos. They eat plants... not meat... with no interest whatsoever in attacking a human as a source of food. They are just so territorial of their waters that they will KILL you if you are unlucky enough to find yourself crossing their river.

Hippos kill more humans in Africa than lions or crocodiles combined who ARE meat eaters. If you find yourself in a Hippo infested river you better start rowing your canoe really really fast.

[K9 Owned]

When I lived in Ottawa it was right next to a conservation area. I walked the dogs there and the park ranger and I became buddies. It was due to him that I relaxed my views on deer hunting (and others). He took me to the centre and showed me a film about what happens when herds aren't culled. It wasn't pretty

He also gave me quite an education on Beavers and suggested that I DO NOT let my dogs in to the ponds where beavers live. Beavers can swim underwater for 15 minutes and have been known to not only bite large dogs but haul them down and drown them. A small dog wouldn't have a prayer.

[Connie Lea]

I'm with you Jneen. If that is the beaver that killed Candy, I am overjoyed that he is dead.

[Debbwl]

Krislady wrote:
Yikes - I didn't know beavers were like that!

Of course, the only thing I know about beavers comes from the Narnia books, so that may not be entirely accurate. But still, they were part of the good guys!

Wow.

Krislady said it best Yikes and I also didn't know beavers were like that!!

[jneen]

Pot Scrubber wrote:
I wouldn't be surprised. Beavers are very territorial because they spend hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours building and maintaining their dams. Without them they would go extinct. They are not carnivores they have no interest in killing animals for food.

The same with Hippos. They eat plants... not meat... with no interest whatsoever in attacking a human as a source of food. They are just so territorial of their waters that they will KILL you if you are unlucky enough to find yourself crossing their river.

Hippos kill more humans in Africa than lions or crocodiles combined who ARE meat eaters. If you find yourself in a Hippo infested river you better start rowing your canoe really really fast.

Well, fortunately we don't have any hippos in Georgia (unless you count Honey Boo-Boo's momma)
I did some research on beavers and it appears they can be quite mean. I'm thinking the dogs probably found it out of the pond and tried to corner it. Candy never did understand that she was a Prissy Poodle. She wasn't wet when I found her, so I don't think it happened in the pond. She never swam because she was missing the front leg and swam in circles if she tried to swim.

[Saralaya]

Debbwl wrote:

Krislady wrote:
Yikes - I didn't know beavers were like that!

Of course, the only thing I know about beavers comes from the Narnia books, so that may not be entirely accurate. But still, they were part of the good guys!

Wow.

Krislady said it best Yikes and I also didn't know beavers were like that!!

Ditto here!