My My A Mountain Beaver

Mountain Beaver (Aplodontia Rufa)

The mountain beaver is actually not even a beaver nor is it confined to the mountains. Under thickets of thimbleberry, in meadows and along streams, through forests of the Pacific coast, this tubby little rodent can tunnel for several hundred feet! The mountain beaver is wonderfully the most primitive extant rodent; Indians of the Pacific Northwest once wore robes made of its brown fur. These little dudes are strict vegetarians, and sometimes climb trees to trim off needles and twigs. The most anyone will ever see of this busy little rodent is burrow holes and tracks as it is considerably a nocturnal animal.