Nevertheless, to give credit where credit is due, it must be admitted that the beaver is unique in the animal kingdom by virtue of its feats, even though these are largely the result of instinct.
Among the natural enemies of the beaver clan are listed most of the predators; fox, coyote, cougar, bear, wildcat, and where their habitats coincide, the otter. It seems that all of these exhibit a liking for the flesh of this largest of rodents, although a painstaking stalk, consummated by a swift rush or leap is necessary for success, lest the beaver escape to his natural refuge, the water. The otter, of course, may enter the burrow or house and kill the young, but it is not likely that it has the strength required to deal with a full grown animal.
MOUNT RAINIER APLODONTIA, MOUNT RAINIER MOUNTAIN BEAVER
Aplodontia rufa rainieri Merriam
A stout-bodied rodent, about the size of a muskrat, with a tail so short that it is concealed in the fur. Sexes are alike in size and color; upper parts light brown with a darker overcast, under parts a dull brown, sometimes showing white patches. Eyes and ears small.
Specimens in park collection: RNP-80, RNP-104, and a mounted specimen, Longmire Museum, Park Headquarters.
The various subspecies of aplodontia are found only along the western coast of North America, from the mountain ranges westward to the Pacific. It is not known to occur elsewhere in the world.
The Mount Rainier mountain beaver is found only on and in the immediate vicinity of Mount Rainier, where it is abundant in some localities from park boundaries to 6,000 feet. It has been reported from the Paradise River (5,200 feet), Longmire, Reflection Lake, Ohanapecosh, Comet Falls, the Rampart Ridge Trail, the Nisqually Entrance, in the Nickel Creek burn, and on the Wonderland Trail on the north side of Stevens Canyon (3,000 feet).
The common name of this animal is not particularly appropriate, since it resembles the muskrat and pocket gophers in appearance and habits more closely than it does the beaver to which it is not closely related. It prefers a wet habitat, but is not aquatic. It occasionally gnaws through the small stems of willow, alder, and other shrubs, felling them to the ground, but it makes no attempt to construct dams or canals. Tiny rivulets are often diverted to flow through the mountain beaver’s burrows, perhaps by accident, possibly because the animal intended such diversion.
The food of the aplodontia includes almost every succulent plant found in the park, as well as many shrubs and the bark of some trees. Bracken appears to be on the preferred list. During the summer months the presence of the animal in a locality is often indicated by bundles of plants cut and piled in exposed places to cure. The mountain beaver is more particular in this respect than the pika, the bundles are often rather neatly arranged on a log or stump, the base of the stems at one end of the pile, nicely evened up, and the entire bundle intact. After curing, the bundles are stored in the burrows, to serve as food and nesting material.
A rather extensive system of burrows from a few inches to a foot or two beneath the surface, and piles of freshly excavated earth are also evidence of the workings of this animal. The typical site chosen for development is ordinarily moist, probably not because the aplodontia is a lover of water, but because it is in such locations that suitable food plants abound. The burrows are constructed as exploratory routes in foraging, with what appears to be a main gallery intersected by a number of branches. These burrows emerge in thick cover or under logs, with the openings often connected by well-beaten runways where the overhanging plants and shrubs afford concealment.