"Beavers-paratroopers": why rodents were put in boxes and thrown off with parachutes

This unusual environmental event, which has no analogues in the world, was held in the United States in Idaho. More than 70 beavers were planted in special boxes and parachuted into the territory of the national park. Why were such difficulties needed, and why were the rodents so stressed?

As often happens in animal relocation stories, it all started with a conflict between beavers and people. The picturesque surroundings of Lake Payette began to rapidly build up in the second half of the 40s of the last century. But before the person came to these lands, Canadian beavers were the rightful owners of this area. Rodents caused inconvenience to new settlers, and for this reason it was decided to catch all the beavers and resettle them in the protected area.

But the selected area, although suitable for beavers in all respects, had one significant drawback: there were no roads. Attempts have been made to deliver animals in cages on horseback. But this turned out to be extremely inconvenient for the beavers themselves, and the horses were not enthusiastic about such passengers and became uncontrollable. Therefore, when one of the employees of the Department of Hunting and Fishing, under whose control the evacuation of rodents was to be carried out, suggested dropping beavers with a parachute, this was enthusiastically received.

Especially for these purposes, a box with ventilation holes was designed, which automatically opened as soon as it touched the ground. The parachutes left over from the Second World War in large numbers were in stock, and a team led by Elmo W. Heather began an experiment.

A Canadian beaver named Jeronimo was chosen as the main tester. The department employees approached the operation with all responsibility and dumped the beaver until they were convinced that the box was always open, and the animal successfully transferred the flight with a parachute.

After successful trials, in 1948, 76 Canadian beavers were relocated from the vicinity of Lake Payette to a forest reserve area in central Idaho. The beaver Jeronimo was the first to land, for which the best site in the reserve was chosen. A short documentary was even shot about this incredible operation, which can be seen in one of our previous materials.