Nutria? They have tails.

Oh my goodness! I think you caught mountain beaver! They are shy creatures and live all over PNW but people rarely see them. Every Spring one of these guys strips one of my rhodies for nesting material. I hate when they do that but they are so cute!

Thanks tanowicki, I went to look again and this one doesn't have a long rat-like tail as in nutria's pictures I see on the web.

Definitely a mountain beaver, aka 'boomer'. They can be very destructive to a garden so I'd suggest you transport him (her?) a respectable distance away before releasing. You might want to Google up on preferred habitats.

Here is a link that might be useful: mountain beavers

Thanks enith and gardengal48. No wonder my elderberry was destroyed!!! At first I thought it was by the rabbits but now that you told me I must go apologize to them.

i can't see the tail, and i thought beavers had webbing on the back feet. but to me it looks like a ground hog.

Aplodontia rufa isn't a beaver, with the mountain in the common name helping to distinguish it.

Many years ago, when rhododendrons were being clipped off here we caught one - and ending up keeping it as a pet in the garage. It lived in a cage on a shelf, until it somehow got out one night. A ramp back to the cage was installed, after which it would reappear in the cage each morning!

Eventually we let it go in an undeveloped, moist ravine north of here.

Re: "Eventually we let it go in an undeveloped, moist ravine north of here."

Yeah, right into MY backyard!....

We Caught SIX this year!!

There were few properties nearby, the stream having eaten its way down into the land quite a bit. Of course, there would also be the issue of what other Aplodontia may have already been occupying the territory at the same time, and the fact that it was a nocturnal animal with no existing holes dug on the site being dumped out there during the day.

Since the site did look suitable for the species any problems for neighboring gardeners that its presence might produce would probably not suddenly start with the addition of this one individual.

The 'beaver' portion of the common name refers to this animal's ability to gnaw through bark and limbs in a manner similar to a true beaver. It's not a water animal like a true beaver and eats the plants it gathers rather than building dens or dams with them. It lives in underground burrows.

My stepson and his wife moved into a new housing development a few years ago east of Mill Creek. Their new home abutted a large cleared open area that accommodated those gigantic power pilons that march across the landscape. No sooner had they landscaped their backyard than the plants started disappearing...... a small vine maple, a couple of shrubs, a Japanese maple. Since the backyard was completely fenced and theft was unlikely, they were mystified as to what was happening. Until they looked out their window once evening to see yet another shrub disappearing under the fence. A mountain beaver, it's habitat disrupted by the recent widespread construction, had a dug a hole unde the fence and was using their new landscape as a salad bar.

They are far more common than one would think although rarely seen.

if this salad cruncher isn't a true beaver and's not a ground hog, then what kind of demonic vermin is it? and what salad dressing does he hate?

I've dealt with them for years. They like Sword ferns, Vine and Japanese Maple, Western Hemlock and yes, rhododendrons. I have seen where they have climbed a small Western Hemlock as high as eight feet and removed the limbs, leaving short stubs to climb up on. They can eat veggies also. One hauled a small squash to it's burrow entrance this year down over the bluff.
They like to live under old stumps and logs near areas that are a bit wet. Once I got rid of their cover, they've left me alone for the most part.
Habitat loss and coyotes are their worst enemy.
They are nocturnal but the few that I've seen were during the daytime. Most North westerners aren't aware of them. Some friends of mine thought I was kidding when I told them about the Mountain Beaver.
I read they have the dubious distinction of harboring the largest flea on earth. 1/4 inch. Ugh.
Mike

if this salad cruncher isn't a true beaver and's not a ground hog, then what kind of demonic vermin is it?

Read the previous comments - it's a mountain beaver, Aplodontia rufa. Looks a bit like a pocket gopher on steroids, although not all that closley related. A rather unique genus, it is the only living species. And only located in the PNW (lucky us!).

its not legal to relocate wildlife in some states ... might want to check that all out ... before you do such

ken

from the tmi files . do a wikpedia search of the cuddly mountain beaver and the company he keeps. have mercy!

I have only seen one mountain beaver in my life, my father caught it in our backyard in the early 70's in SE Portland. They don't even have them at the Oregon Zoo in the PNW section!

Wow, I'm one of those that didn't even know this critter existed in the US. Learning something is a great thing, even if I'll probably never encounter one.

dbarron, I could have sent you mine. I can tell you from experience they love sword fern, maple, mountain laurel, rhododendron and peonies. If you've priced tree peonies, you know what kind of expensive rodent dinner those provide....

Jeff, these are typically solitary animals, what kind of company were you suggesting they keep? And BuyorSell, that may be why you don't see them in a zoo exhibit, they don't share well and would require too much space or could only be an exhibit of one.

Not in the least bit cuddly, they are capable of delivering a nasty bite. And can climb almost as well as a squirrel, I watched one run up a mature rhododendron here year before last and was surprised at how fast they are.

Very destructive in the landscape, I'd rather deal with the deer.

Not to mention, they can undermine hillsides as we have experienced in our Wheeler gardens.

The captured one that lived in our garage for a time was so amenable to the situation it would go back to its cage each night - never saw any sign of it trying to gnaw its way out of the building, either.

We fed it raw vegetables, don't remember any pains being taken to be sure it had a special diet. Maintaining the cage apparently wasn't an issue either, in fact I don't remember anything being done to clean it at all! Yet it did not become overtly disgusting.

When awakened the animal would "boom" at us several times and then settle right down. We didn't, of course try to hold it.

Maybe they are disease prone in a zoo setting, with lots of other animals around. Otherwise I have no idea why they are not seen on exhibit.

Well, I can appreciate your wildlife, especially if it's not eating my precious plants (lol).

I probably might feel different after such an expensive lunch (if it was on me).

I caught one once and put him in a 55 gallon plastic barrel with no top. He wasn't there in the morning. Have no idea how he got out.
Mike

The one here had to climb up wood shelving to get back in the cage that first time(s). After we saw what had happened we installed a ramp for it.

this is when I got mad!
This was a Cardiocrinum --huge, should have bloomed on a very tall stalk next year.
I found one of the leaves dragged into one of the burrow entrances..

....and about them being solitary? NO WAY!
I trapped 4 out of one entrance and 2 out of another not that far away. I

I've uncovered their 'dens' with a bulldozer several times here. Three of four every time. My neighbor's Irish Setter killed three one time that I uncovered with the blade.
They're fairly common here in the country and I haven's seen one for about five years. That one was eating a Daylily in broad daylight.
Ron, if I get a chance to capture one, I'd like to keep it awhile before letting it go.......in the next county.
Mike

Females at least will have young present with them in the same burrows for part of the year. The territory ends a short distance from the burrow, so burrows can be near one another without representing a social grouping.

I wonder since Mountain Beavers eat rhododendrons, if there is any connection to the lack of our native rhododendron growing in the Washington Cascades. I heard there was a small population near Mt. Rainier, and there are a lot of them near Mt Hood. One place there is called Rhododendron. I don't know if they have Mountain Beavers or not though.
One of the best places to see Rhododendron macrophyllum in the Olympics is Bon Jon Pass between Quilcene and Discovery Bay.
Mike

I think it is soil conditions. Where you often see them in Washington is on very sandy and/or gravelly looking soils, where they may even wilt regularly during summer. South of the Vashon Glaciation soils that haven't been recently compressed and ground by glaciers - or that originated as glacial out-wash - become prevalent. Up here our lowlands, hills and mountains all often have extensive areas of salmon-berry, alder and other indicators* of damp, even wet soils that the rhododendron probably cannot begin to get started in. Even though planted specimens may persist in a variety of situations.

*Moist woodlands - just the thing for Aplodontia

This post was edited by bboy on Sat, Nov 15, 14 at 15:01

I hadn't looked at it that way before. I can see the logic though.
Thanks, Ron.
Mike

We have salmon berry and alder growing adjacent to 20' tall rhododendrons on our property. I believe the rhodies are native - locals tell me it used to be legal to dig rhododendrons up in state parks and take them home.

I'm sure the rhodies were planted here, but we have found young volunteers at their feet, so they can get started in our very wet soil FWIW...

Spontaneous Rhododendron macrophyllum seedlings being generated by long-established, planted specimens of the species on the property immediately north of me were seen only on rotting wood in the then undeveloped forest land behind the lot. Red huckleberry routinely exhibits the same tendency, is a typical feature of old tree stumps. Salal growing in swamps is often also limited to logs and stumps.

Accounts of wild situations for Asian rhododendrons growing in wetter, forested parts repeatedly list locations such as branches or trunks of larger trees, cliffs and rocks etc.

Every plant has a range of tolerances that varies in how great it is from one topic (drainage, exposure, nitrogen levels, pH etc.) and one kind of plant to another. Seedlings of plants may often come up in locations that cannot support the long term development of most or even all of them. Seemingly incompatible wild plants growing natively in close proximity is a frequent sight, in addition to this perhaps being allowed for by tolerance ranges of one or more species involved there may be differences in conditions over very short distances that make it possible. Salal on stumps in wetlands for instance.

This post was edited by bboy on Mon, Dec 1, 14 at 12:16