Syracuse.com - Waterville woman befriends wild beavers, gets with several feet of them

[HuntingNY-News]

DEC official: "it's not something we would encourage. Observe wildlife at a safe distance."

Submitted photoShayne Cowen i pictured within a few feet of an adult beaver on property near her home in Waterville.

Among the things I love about my job is how one outdoors tale seems to generates another — even with something as obscure as beavers.

I wrote recently about how Moravia taxidermist Jon VanNest was handling two large beaver pelts in the 70-plus-pound class for a customer. (“Either one could make a coat for a little kid,” he said.)

He had seen the beavers before they were trapped near the southern end of Owasco Lake where he duck hunted. He said he feared the beavers would attack his hunting dog in the water.

That column prompted Norman Cowen to write about how his wife, Shayne, has gotten friendly with a couple of beavers on private, posted property near their home in Waterville in Oneida County.

“I have caught a lot of beaver, but I only had one come after me. It was in a trap,” Cowen said. “Once I caught one while in a boat. It was swimming by me. I had to see if I could pick it up, so I did. Using both hands on its back, I was able to lift it out of the water for about 30 seconds.”

Cowen said he’s been fascinated by his wife’s patience and ability to get within almost arm’s reach of a certain adult beaver — and even closer to a younger, smaller one. She feeds them apples by setting them on their “house.” He sent me several pictures of his wife sitting next to the big adult beaver.

“It has taken about 6 to 7 months to get this close,” he said. “She gets within 5 feet. At 4 feet, the beaver will start to move away. With the younger beaver, she has been about 3 feet from it. All the time, she talks gently to the beaver.”

Frankly, I don’t endorse trying to feed wild animals or trying to pick up a beaver that’s in the water. You never know what’s going to happen.

“It’s common sense that you don’t get that close to a wild animal, no matter how tame they may seem to be. Nine-nine percent of the time nothing may happen. It’s that 1 percent when it’s going to cost you,” said Steve Joule, regional wildlife manager at the DEC’s Cortland office.

“It’s not something we would encourage,” he concluded. “Observe wildlife at a safe distance.”

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog