How many have watched a beaver react to a castor mound set? What kind of reactions did you see?

I watched one from a distance of about 40 feet this spring swimming downstream until it got directly opposite the castor mound I had made across the stream from it. When it either spotted the mud or it hit the scent it made an immediate right-angle turn and headed at the mound at a good rate of speed. It did not hesitate to try to crawl up on it and when it did a TS85 snapped on it's hind foot and the toes of the other hind foot got stuck between the lever and the jaws. I have seen others do this also and some will circle first before committing.

Many times I have had to take off my safety gripper and step out of the way, and allow the beaver to enter my 330.I call these my instant beaver.
Tom

there must be alot of beaver around if that happens.last spring i got 3 beaver in less than 1 wk. by 330 lure set. thought when making set close to dark,heard noise behind me,that was beaver. got big one in morning. could they become agressive enough to bite you with that lure on you making set in spring?

They do get agressive when responding to castor based lures.Have had several come up behind me when making a set,but have never been bitten.Did have one try to take me out in a dry road ditch,but that was more of a case that I was in his way.
He got the big swat when he reached my feet.
Tom

I've watched two beavers work my castor mound sets. Both of them did a bunch of tail slapping and swimming back and forth. One was in a pond and one was in a small creek with a series of 5 dams. The one in the pond slapped its tail at least 20 times before it finally committed to the set. Unfortunatly it plowed over my 330 and did'nt get caught. I watched the one in the creek swim back and forth past my set 4 or 5 times without ever commiting to it. That one slapped it's tail at least 10 times. That one or its twin was in my 330 in the morning. I've always thought that foreign castor was sort of an enrager. From what I've seen their first response is to warn others in their lodge or warn the intruder to get out. What I've seen is nothing like the video above, maybe it's the difference between early spring and summer? Anybody else observed anything like this or is it just a missouri thing?

i am watching this pretty close.... i am in the middle of a tricky job right now.....

Sometimes setting foot holds to the side or doubleing up on foot holds is best. (front and to the side)
Alot of times the beaver circles to the side and comes in over the back.

kirk... thanks so much for the assistance

Watched two this spring. First swam back and fourth checking out the mound and sniffing the air for about 20 minutes, then dove and came up looking like a penquine walking up the bank with its front arms full of leaves from the bottom and dropped them next to my caster mound. Missed my set three times doing this and then went over and tore up my mound and made his own. Looked like a bulldozer had tore up my mound when he got done. Moved the trap and got him that night.

Got to watch another two nights later that just circled and circled it and slapped his tail on the water. Wouldn't come close to it when I was there and eventuall went across the river (about 50' or so) and made his own castor mound. After he left I set his and had one in my trap and one in his the next day.

Very cool both times to watch them work the set. Wind really plays a big deal in how they work the set as they were both nose way up in the air out of the water sniffing the air and was always trying to come down wind from it and would circle to pin point the source of the smell. Learned a lot from watching both of them.

-TJ

Kctrapper, I am wondering if all the tail slapping you observed was not partly a response to the beaver detecting your presence or maybe they did not like the foreign 330 in their environment. Had these beaver been spooked or harassed before? Maybe they had been pinched or had a 330 go off on them before when that scent was used and they were sounding off as a result of it.
I am able to observe them approach one of my sets with castor from my window so I know my presence is not a factor and I have never seen the tail-slapping occur when they approach and I have seen them approach this set probably 50 times or more. They do not always commit but their nose always goes up in the air. Some will go straight into the 330 without hesitation and some will circle before committing and then some (shy) beaver will circle, climb up on the log, really look things over then move on.
I have had them come as close as 5 feet behind me when I am remaking a set and then they will slap their tail right behind me and scare the crap out of me. My observations have been that they only slap their tail when they know I am there. However, there is no way for me to know if they ever do it when I am not.
My observations have occurred during the spring and only a few in the fall so I don't know if summer behavior is different.

Do you think the different reactions are a male / female thing ?

No Jim,its a beaver thing--not sex orientated.
Tom

I've had the same experiences. Aggressive is the word to describe it. Speeding up as it hits the shore happened each of the times I watched the behavior. It is safe to say that making sure the trap is stable is a necessity no matter what type you are using!!

I've seen a few beaver work my sets. Some charge, but others circle and circle. I've learned to block off the sides of my mounds well. Often times they seem to want to go directly into the wind when approaching the mound, and will often approach from the sides or back when the wind is wrong. I used to think some were being trap-shy when I noticed some where going through my blocking and that I was catching some leaving the mound, but if they were all trap-shy they wouldn't have swam into the trap on the way out. If you look closely you might be surprised how many beaver you actually catch leaving the mound instead of catching them on approach, especially in 1/2 submerged conibears. I've come to the conclusion that some want to go into the wind on approach, no matter what. I think for safety reasons and that they are somewhat afraid of what might happen if the "other" beaver is still there. Any body else have any ideas on that?
I've also witnessed beaver try to climb over 330's in shallow water. It's important to dig out in front of 330's in shallow water (6" or less), so the beaver is swimming when it hits your trap and is much less likely to try to climb over the trap. I just use my boot in softer bottoms.
The most interesting one I witnessed was a beaver that approached a mound I had guarded by a 330. The beaver made a bee-line for the mound when it smelled the lure, but when it got a couple feet from the edge of the water it literally splashed a wall of water up on to the mound, springing the trap when it did. That solved the problem I was having with the occasional trap that was sprung, empty, and not moved. I was having the problem with only two lures. There was something about those two lures that was causing a splashing reaction by some beaver. Those two lures don't smell similar either. Since I quit using those lures I haven't had anymore trouble.

By putting 2 sticks in an X over the jaws of my 330s,I do not have a problem with beavers trying to go over the top.
Tom

are any of you guys using straight castor?????

Goldy,

That's a great post. I noted in another thread the other day that my catches with 330s and castor mounds increased dramatically when I started setting deeper than half, and looking for a nice deep approach. IMO... a half submerged 330 setting on the bottom in front of a castor mound is a marginal set at best.

Also, like bogmaster, I like to put crossed sticks or sometimes a big old rotten log as a "dive stick".

Last, I like to camo the crap out of every set...leaving one very obvious, but ragged hole in the brush for them to swim through. I always carry a pair of long handled brush loppers when trapping beaver/otter - something I don't often see in other folks' packbaskets.

i am w/you...

something about a 330 hangin out of the water like that looks weird....

Never had much problems with a half submerged 330 in front of my mounds.I do block the sides well,but other than the cross sticks,the front of my trap is left as is.My triggers are bent in a rounded m and are totally under water when the trap is half submerged,this offers the beaver an open window right to the mound.I also may have another set 3 or 4 feet away.I just altrnate between my 2 lures and give them a chance to pick and choose.
Tom