The most pivotal type of animal in the past was the Beaver. The beaver was huge for clothing, dams, food, hats, and even perfume. When people think of beavers, they tend not to fully understand the effect beavers had on the everyday world. These little animals that our known for having a little head, big body, huge tail and teeth that make the beaver known for how it is. This animals tend to be around 44 pounds. As history has shown, the beaver population is not that high as it once was. By 1930 the beaver population was almost completely extinct due to the high demand in beavers all around the world. In the 20th century the beaver population was tended be around 1200 beavers. In a recent estimate there is said to be 639,000 beavers today. In The idea of trade and clothing became huge ideas to the European people. It is known that in every single beaver, there are 23,000 hairs that are on the body. WIth these hairs they make felted hats that were worn mainly in Europe to keep people’s heads warm or to show authority/ class rank.
Another important aspect to acknowledge is how beavers are known for being the second most animal that can change the environment. The first major cause of change in the environment is humans, but second is the beaver. These beavers allowed dams, waterways, food and other ecosystems to come wherever beavers were around. Without beavers the waterways, food, and dams will all disappear. Beavers are known for using the logs to make a home. These homes that the beavers make are the most reliable type of safe place. They are sturdy enough to keep any type of predator away from the homes. These complex homes are made from these complex animals.
The ecology of the beaver is to create wetlands. Wetlands give the opportunity to increase the biodiversity around it and allow other species to be around them. For example, otters tend to be where beavers live. Birds and bats both gain the ability of life through the survival of beavers. Since, shrubs allow better protection for birds and allow more room for bats to navigate through the forest. To indigenous people, the biggest part to to them that the beavers did, was that the dams that they build increase better waterways for salmon and trout to come through. The exist=existence of salmon has a major thanks to beavers because without beavers there would be no access for the fish to come other than the ocean of lakes. Which would then limit the population or range of salmon.
Beavers live in territorial family units consisting of parents, yearlings, and new young most often adding up to six family members occupying the same lodge. (Zavyalov,2016) They form a long-lasting monogamous couple, which is rare among rodents, and produce one to several kits per year between May and June. Kits remain in the lodge for the first month and are fed by parents and sibling over the following few months. At around 2 years old, youngs are chased away from the family unit. Beavers use their scent from their anal glands to recognize each other and mark their territory. They use their tail to slap the water surface and signals a detected danger. Beavers have few predators, except humans, wolves, and coyotes, and they can live for up to 12 years.
Ecosystem/ Importance:
The importance of beavers in an ecosystem play a major factor in 4 different types of things such as: creating wetlands, tree cutting, sediment and water filtration, and biodiversity. Creating wetlands is an important function the beaver obtains. A dam made by beavers is a subject that is really complex everything works by a step by step situation. For example, the dam that is built, is intended to slow down the flow of water. By doing this it allows a wetland or pond to form. It is said that North american animals thrive off the idea of wetlands. Wetlands main aspect is it stores water longer. This is important because if wetlands didn’t exist all the water would just disappear.
The cutting of trees is another ability/important aspect of the beaver. For instance, When beavers fell trees to make dams and lodges, they have a positive effect on their ecosystem. After felling aspens — beavers' tree of choice — the stumps grow new shoots, which are unappetizing to beavers but are the ideal food for moose and elk populations. When they cut down trees, they also bring more light to the forest floor, which allows trees (ex. hazels and alders) that need a lot of light to grow. This encourages diversity of plant life.
Sediment and water filtration is one aspect or ability of the beaver that I was completely blown away by. When a dam slows the water and creates a pond or wetland, it also slows the movement of the sediment in the stream and causes it to build up in the pond. This nutrient-rich sediment either provides food for those creatures who live at the bottom of the pond or slowly seeps into the surrounding soil. Once the beavers move on and their dam breaks down, the water will drain, leaving behind an extremely lush meadow full of rich soil. Dams also filter the water that runs through, improving its quality.
Finally, the biodiversity aspect of the beaver is that they are technically the leader of the environment (Corona, n.a.) Such as when beavers carry out in their habitat has a positive influence on local flora and fauna and greatly increases biodiversity. Studies have shown there is likely to be a greater abundance of birds, reptiles and plant life in areas modified by beavers. Beavers tend to make their ecosystems more complex, and therefore a number of species may rely on them and the way they engineer the environment.
Beaver Hunting for Indigenous People:
Capturing beavers was different from culture or every tribe. No one ever hunted in the same way or used in the same traditional aspect of others. Principal hunting methods reported include deadfalls, snares, nets, bows and arrows, spears and clubs. The Yukon Indigenous tribe Net and snare was also used. A thing called “babiche”, made of semi-tanned skin twisted together, was used near the beaver’s lodge or dam. A snare was also used: a looped rope attached to a tree or branch with a bait to lure the beaver. Once lured, the animal would be entangled in the loop. Yukon Ingalik used a tether snare. It was also common for cultures to disturb a beaver lodge and place a net over the opening in the ice to catch the animal. While In winter, when the snow was high, hunters would break down a lodge and use bow and arrow, club or spear as the beavers tried to escape. Bow and arrow was reportedly used by the Yukon Ingalik.
Other tribes called Tutchone, Tagish and Tlingit all have their own of hunting the food they do as well. For instance they in earlier times, the Tutchone, Tagish and Tlingit used nets and spears to catch beaver (McClellan, 1975). This practice became illegal and was replaced with trapping and shooting the animal. This new technique was not embraced by some cultures because it is considered less ecologically viable. In the earlier times spearheads were made of antler or bone, later ones were barbed points formed from old files. The hunters speared the beavers in the water using poplars or willows as bait to lure them, and then they were clubbed to death. In May, they were tracked in a lake and shot with a gun. The hunter would set a trap smeared with sand and castor in the lake. He would use a dry tree as a toggle and position it in the lake well away from the shore because if the beaver was caught on shore, the beaver would chew its hand off. The nets used in netting were sinew or babiche rectangular nets which had been immersed in a solution of boiled cotton wood ashes or soaked for four or five hours in alder bark and water to get rid of human scent. The net was placed in front of the entry to beaver burrows and tied to a pole located on the shore to which moose-hoof “bells” had been fastened. When the hunter heard them, it meant that a beaver had been trapped. He would then run into the water and shape the net into a purse to hold the beaver, which he then clubbed to death. Later, the net was reset until all the large beavers, typically the older ones in the lodge, had been caught. The inland Tlingit also used dogs to locate and chase beavers out of their dens and employed deadfalls.
The beliefs of beavers spiritually:
North American beavers were deemed influential animal spirits and treated with great respect by the Tutchone, Tagish and Tlingit. For instance, in earlier times, camps would be thoroughly washed, and new spruce branches laid out before any beaver was carried back to camp. Beavers also held the mythical position of “Smart Man”. There were various taboos associated with beavers. Its head was never consumed and its head and leg bones had to be taken back to the water. When skinning it, one had to be careful not to break its “kneecaps”. It was also taboo if a captured beaver urinated prior to being pulled from a net. As a result, strong young men usually performed the arduous task of pulling the beaver out to ensure the task was done as efficiently and quickly as possible. In the Tutchone, Tagish and Tlingit tradition, the beaver shares a special friendship with the porcupine and as a result they did not slaughter porcupines near a beaver dam or mention the real name of the porcupine while hunting beavers. Instead they used the pseudonym “Sharp Quills” Also, beaver and porcupine could not be prepared together in the same pot. They considered beavers as powerful spirit animals and used its skin to make spells to permanently have warm hands in winter. Beaver head or tooth were “sent into” a witches victim or used in duels between shamans.
The “blood liver” (known as the “spleen”) was considered extremely powerful and could not be given to dogs. The “blood liver” was used to tell hunting fortunes and to foretell bad luck. The hipbone was also used to tell hunting fortunes. It is cleaned and placed in a fire and then hung outside camp. The following day, the hunting leader glances at the bone to see what type of animal hair is clinging to it. This animal is the animal that the hunters will find”. In particular, the Teslin used the beaver scapulae to foretell if they would be successful in hunting and in which direction to go. After the fortune was told, it was burned in a fire so that it would not be contaminated by “unclean people”. To ensure hunting success, the Tlingit would burn a dog’s whisker “until you can hear it sing” and then place it in a beaver tunnel together with the “workings” of a blowfly so that the dog would be good at hunting beaver in the water. All three groups used various spells to try to make the margins of the shore freeze quickly as the dog team may have had to swim long distances from the principal ice on the lake to the shore because the margins had melted during the hunt. Beaver is the most significant crest animal of the Crow group of the Inland Tlingit and the Tagish. All three cultures sometimes used beavers as pets, except Inland Tlingit the beliefs of the beaver were to strong.
Beavers used for perfume and food flavoring
Castoreum is a substance obtained from beavers glands. This smell is used to mark their territory or humans use it as perfumes or food flavoring. It isn’t used in today’s world because the use of beavers glands are now not needed or legal since artificial flavors now exist. It is known not to be toxic for the use of humans. The smell of it is compared to the smell of vanilla. Before vanilla extract was invented, this what they would use for flavoring of some foods. It was also used for medicine since the smell is so strong, it could be interpreted or used for headaches.
Trade of beavers:
The trade of beavers goes could be traced back to the greek and roman period. One major accessory that was traded was how people used beavers fur for hat making. Up until the 16th century Russia was the monopoly of the beaver hat process. They developed a technique called combining, which was where they the would separate the hairs of the beaver and obtain the desired wool that was used for felts. With having this technique down, it allowed the trade to occur between the british which then led to the idea of the 17th century trade of the North American Fur trade dominated by Native Americans and Europe.
Native Americans had the upper hand when it came to the beaver population because when Europe came to the West, they didn’t know the animals or their way around the land like Native Americans did. Europeans relied heavily on Native Americans for the use of beavers. They relied on them for where to find beavers, catch them, how to make hats or clothes. Native Americans and Europeans established a colony that had economic value as well as establishing alliances. Native Americans made a material hat from the beavers fur called “castor gras”. Castor gras were worn by Native Americans for the hunting season. When they would wear the hats during hunting, they would produce sweat and body oil which then would be absorbed by the fur of the beaver. This allowed the hats to be easier to felt and more pliable. According to (Feinstein) the castor gras was known for being the most expensive type of pelt.
Population of beavers now
The beaver population has been increasing slowly every year. In the beginning of time, the population of beavers was around sixty million. That number now is around six to ten million. They are considered to be an endangered species since waterways are dramatically going away which means beavers can’t survive or repair the ecosystems like they need to. In North America around forty-five percent of animals need beavers to create wetlands to survive. If beavers go extinct, then the rest of the ecosystem will go extinct as well. In the 19th century was when the use of beavers was in full effect. The demand for pelts and castoreum called for immediate attention due to the beaver population almost going extinct. The beaver species is considered to be endangered due to the land we are constantly taking away for building new homes, or offices, or more land for agricultural uses. Waterways such as streams, ponds, lakes, creeks are declining in size. With this happening we are slowing killing the beaver species as well, due to lack of resources available for the beaver population.
Conclusion
Beavers played a major factor for the world and the economy through the 16th-19th century. Beavers were apart of indigenous peoples lives by food, medicine, spiritual knowledge of the beaver, which then shaped how the Europeans saw the use of beavers rise. Beavers helped shaped the way our waterways flow. For instance beavers creates good soil all across North America. They do this by keeping more water on the land and pushing away the effects of droughts in certain environments. Beavers allow freshwater to replenish wetlands which then extends biodiversity for animals living there. As well as the new ponds or creeks created would then be able to break down toxic matter such as pesticides. Beavers were and still is major factor for how our world became to be the way it. They have significant value for Indigenous people, Europeans, biodiversity, and water. They affect different things in different ways, but the main aspect all of them have in common is the idea that we need the beavers more than they need us. They are a necessity to our world, and we should respect them now until they are gone and we can’t appreciate the things they do for us.