Helping the Eager Beaver

I recently watched a great History Channel series on DVD, America: The Story of Us. It made me sad to hear that when Europeans fanned out across the new America, they found beavers in the millions. Long ago hunted almost to extinction in Europe, beavers were hunted here for their thick pelts and to make men rich. Their numbers quickly dwindled.

But even today they’re considered a pest when they interfere with our plans and designs. All too often, instead of looking for creative solutions, we simply kill animals considered pests. Even though it was us who invaded and changed their natural environment.

Courtesy history.com

When we take the time to study the behavior of any wild animal though, we often find that they are incredibly beneficial to our environment and us. But it takes time, curiosity and a love of animals to understand their role and to make the changes necessary to thrive together. Figuring out how to share our world with animals challenges our traditional notions of success. For hundreds if not thousands of years, humanity has focused on conquering nature, not living in it. We’re quickly learning, though, that this way of living has dramatic unintended consequences.

Courtesy pbs.org

This was the focus of another great TV show, Nature: Leave it To Beavers. Beavers, it turns out, are enormously important in our changing climate! They keep water from trickling away from areas that desperately need it. They build elaborate dams, create ponds, attract and protect wildlife and develop lush wetlands. To reintroduce these creatures to wild areas, scientists trap and relocate them from suburban areas. The women who do this work have the opportunity not only to help the animals but humanity and the planet as well.

Little girls who love animals invariably want to be veterinarians when they grow up, wanting to work with dogs, cats or horses since those are the animals they’re most likely to interact with. Some fall in love with dolphins and dream of being a marine biologist. But there are a multitude of female scientists studying and helping wild animals in their natural habitats or helping to restore their habitats. Working in some of the most stunning landscapes in the world, these women are improving the lives of animals through hands-on involvement. It can be as rewarding and as heartbreaking as being a parent. Another fantastic show I've been watching on PBS is about the men and women who have become devoted parents to wild animals. New episode on tonight: My Wild Affair.

To prepare for this work, kids can make a practice of observing and wild animals in their own environment, visiting protected wild spaces and learning about the wild animals that live there and how our livelihoods are symbiotic. Understanding that wild animals have families, homes, favorite foods, things they’re afraid of and things that they’re good at makes it easier to appreciate them. They really aren’t so different from us!

The stereotype of a scientist is someone in a lab with goggles on, looking at the world through a microscope. But more and more, scientific minds are being used to study our natural world and design ways to live better, longer, and happier lives. Getting a college degree in biology, microbiology, physics, chemistry, math or statistics is now a very versatile choice, offering the most diversity in careers and allowing future job seekers to be part of team working to help animals. For we now know that when we give animals our love and understanding, everyone is better off.